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The Boke of
Duke Huon of Burdeux
Lord John Bourchier Berners, Sir Sidney Lee
. Digitized byGiOOQlC
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now of Ittri^tt*.
€ftrn Merits. No. xl.
1882.
Digitized by
BERLIN : ASHER & CO., 5, UNTER DEN LINDEN.
NEW YORK: C. SCR1BNER & CO.; LEYPOLDT & HOLT.
PHILADELPHIA : J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
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THE
ENGLISH CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES.
Tione into lngltef> bp
Sir Sofpi Bourrfjter, 5Lort Bernew,
an* prtntrtr bp aKpnlpn Tie SRortc about 1534 a.d.
EDITED PROM THE UNIQUE COPY OP THE FIRST EDITION,
NOW DT THK PO88KSSI0N OF THE KARL OF CRAWFORD AND BALCARRXS,
toiifr an $nito1btxttxonf
BY
S. L. LEE, B.A.,
BALLIOL COLLBGF, OXFORD.
VOL. I.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED FOB THE E ABLY ENGLISH TEXT 80CIETT
BY N. TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59, LUDGATE HILL.
MDCCCLXXXtl, MDCCCLXXXHI.
A' ' ' '
Digitized by
XL, XLI.
It CLAY AND SONS, CHAUCER PRESS, BPNOAY.
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THE
ENGLISH CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES.
PART VII.
goht of
Tionc into tnglis!) bp
Sir 3o|jn 3Sourrfjter, 3Lorti Bernerg,
an) printed bp SRpnfcpn tie Wortie about 1534 a.d.
EDITED FROM THE UNIQUE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION,
NOW IK THE POSSESSION OF THE EARL OF CRAWFORD AND BALCARBE8,
toitjj an Jnhobiuthm,
BY
S. L. LEE, B.A.,
BALLIOL COLL1G1, OXTOBD.
LONDON:
PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY,
BY TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59, LUDGATE HILL
MDCCCLXXXII.
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€dra Series,
XL.
CI.A\ AND TAYLOR, CHAli KR PRESS, Bt'XOA Y.
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PREFATORY NOTE.
The length of this romance has necessitated its publication in two
parts. The first part includes the oldest portions of the story, and
forms a tale complete in itself.
The opening pages of the Introduction are intended to constitute
a general preface to the whole series of English Charlemagne Romances.
The later pages deal with the historical and bibliographical points of
interest connected with Lord Berners' rendering of the present
romance. With the second part will be published an essay on the
differences between the language of the first and third editions re-
spectively (vide Introd. p. lvi, lvii). Holbein's portrait of the translator
will also, it is hoped, appear there. The Hon. H. Tyrwhitt Wilson,
the owner of the picture, and a lineal descendant of Lord Berners,
has very kindly given permission for its reproduction, but the arrange-
ments necessary for its publication have not yet been completed.
I am desirous of expressing my thanks for assistance rendered
me in the preparation of this edition to the Earl of Crawford and
Balcarres, whose loan of the unique copy of the book rendered this
reprint possible ; to Miss Eleanor Marx, who not only undertook the
labour of copying the work for the press, but has also corrected the
great bulk of the proof sheets ; to Mr. R A. Graves of the British
Museum, who aided me very greatly with his wide knowledge when
I was attempting to fix the date of the publication of the book ; and
to Mr. F. J. Furnivall, who, on this as on other occasions, has
generously rendered me much assistance. To the works of M. Gaston
Paris, M. Paul Meyer, and M. Leon Gautier, I have also been
largely indebted, while studying the history of the Charlemagne
Romances in France.
g# L. Lbe.
t6, Brondesbury Villas, London, N. W.
January 10t 1883.
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vii
INTRODUCTION.
i.
THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
§ 1. The distribution of the romances,
p. vii
§ 2. Their growth in France, p. viii.
§ 3. The oantillnes, p. ix.
§ 4. La Chanson de Roland, p. x.
§ 5. Its general style, p. xi.
§ 6. Others of its class, p. xiiL
§ 7. Their later development, p. xiii.
§ 8. The family eyelet, p. xiv.
§ 9. The romances in the lith cen-
tury, p. xv.
§ 10. The prose versions, p. xvi.
§11. Their subsequent history, p. xvi.
§12. The Romances in England,
p. xvil
§ 13. Their classification, p. xviii.
§ 14. T/ieir place in English liter a-
ture, p. xxu
§ 1. Of all the heroes of mediaeval Europe Charles the Great has
left the deepest impression on its literature. His career has given
birth to as vast a series of epic poems and prose romances as any of
which we still have visible remains. It was of three " moost noble
kynges n that French narrative poetry in the early middle ages
mainly treated. Alexander of Macedon, Arthur of Brittany, and
Charles of France were its moving spirits; and Rome, les deux
Bretagnes, and France were the countries that it delighted to honour.1
But the hero who had been the Emperor of the whole western world,
and who was often regarded as the first Christian King and the
arch-confounder of the Saracens, most powerfully stirred the imagin-
ation of the early mediaeval poets. And it was not only in the
country that claimed to have been the centre of his dominions, that
his glorious exploits were recited. France, it must be remembered,
throughout the middle ages was the storehouse whence Europe
1 M. de la Villemarque (let romans de la table ronde, p. 2) says of the fact,
u voila le triple motif poetique dont ils (i. e. lea pontes du raoyen age) «e plaisaient
a tirer dee vartetes infiniea," and quotes the well-known lines from a 13th
century poet, —
" Ne sont que trois matieres a nul homme entendant :
De France, de Bretagne et de Rome la grand."
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Viii THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
chiefly derived its romantic literature. It was a French story-book
that Dante represents as having caused the temptation to which
Francesca so fatally yielded,1 and at a time when hero-worship was
really a perpetual fact, it was inevitable that the legends of Charles
the Great and his fighting men should be everywhere heartily
welcomed. In England the poems have not enjoyed so continuous
a popularity as elsewhere, but there was a time when to many
Englishmen " the holy battles of bold Charlemaine " were (to quote
one of their admirers) as familiar as their own thresholds. But in
Spain, the Low Countries, in Germany, and in Scandinavian lands,
Charles and his companions are numbered among " the paragons
of the earth,11 and each of these countries has enshrined in its
popular literature their traditional history. Nor are they wholly
unknown in Russia and Hungary ; and the Italian poets Boiardo,
Ariosto and Tas3o, have shed their golden light on many episodes
drawn from the French Charlemagne romances, which long before
their time had become thoroughly acclimatized in Italy.
§ 2. The development of the Charlemagne romances is an inter-
esting study for the student of literature. But it has been wofully
misrepresented by many English writers on the subject.2 Known
until recently in their prose forms alone, the romances have been
regarded as renderings of monkish chronicles ; but these, so far
from being their progenitors, are themselves largely indebted to the
fictions, and the relations between the metrical and prose forms of
the romances have been constantly misapprehended. In their early
shapes they were always metrical. They grew gradually and imper-
ceptibly out of the traditions of the people, and only the latest of
1 Inferno, v. 66.
8 Dunlop, the English historian of fiction, who has attempted a full but
very erroneous account of these romances, treats them (with some modi-
fications, it is true) as amplifications of the Latin Chronicle ascribed to Turpin,
believed to have been Archbishop of Rheiros in the time of Charles. Recent
criticism has proved the work to be itself based largely on popular poems, and
to have no just claim to the antiquity for a long time ascribed to it It is not
from the pen of Turpin, but from that of two distinct authors living respec-
tively about the middle of the Uth and the beginning of the 12th centuries.
Its tone is strongly clerical, and it has of course little right to be regarded as
an historical work. Dunlop, moreover, only knew the Charlemagne romances
in their prose (i. e. their latest) forms.
§ 3. THE CANTILENES, OR POPULAR POEMS.
iz
them can bo ascribed to conscious artistic endeavour. They are
Volks-Epen, and not Kunst-Epen : in some respects they are com-
parable with the Homeric poems, in none with the jEneid or La
Geru8alemme Liberata.
§ 3. In their own life-time the deeds of Charles the Great and of
his companions in arms were the subjects of short popular verses sung
by the people themselves in the daily intercourse of life. None of
the Charlemagne cantiltnes, as French critics have called the popu-
lar poems, have reached us. Few of their class were committed
to writing; but we may infer from the testimony of various
witnesses that very many at one time existed.1 In the earliest
Charlemagne romances the heroes expect their exploits to be celebrated
in song.2 From the 7th to the 9th centuries a story of King Clotaire
was preserved in verse, and an early mediaeval writer describes how
Frenchwomen used to sing it together in chorus.3 Written some-
times in German, sometimes in Romance dialects, the cantilhm
treated of isolated events, briefly and vividly described, and inter-
spersed with exclamations of wonder, joy, and grief, which gave
them often a lyrical, rather than an epic, character. In English
literature the ballads that found their way into the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle may perhaps be looked upon as most closely resembling
them. It is not until nearly the 11th century that professional
poets or reciters are met with in French literature. We then find a
class of men called jongleurs wandering from village to village, from
castle to castle, chanting to the accompaniment of a little viol which
they carried with them, stories of national or local heroes. It was
under their influence that the detached poems were brought together.
But hastily united either by themselves, or by professional poets who
were known as trouveurs, they continued to be expanded or com-
pressed, often on the spur of the moment, as the prejudices of the
jongleur or his audience demanded. Nor for nearly three centuries,
1 M. Gaston Paris. Hittoire PoHiqne de Charlemagne, pp. 40, et teq.
* Chanson de Roland, 1014 and 1466. The edition of the Chanson which
I have used is M. Leon Gautier's, published at Tours in 1881.
8 Carmen publicum juxta rusticitatem per omnium pene volitabat era ita
canentium feminaeque choros inde plaudendo coraponebant. " ^lta saoctl
Faronis," quoted from Historian de France, iii. p. 505, by M. Ga^tier m Mi
Introd. to Roland, p. xvij.
X THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
after the trouveurs had committed most of the poems to writing, did
the improvisations cease, and the process was subsequently, and with
less excuse, adopted by later copyists. New ideas were introduced to
harmonize with the views of each generation of hearers, and, in the
days of their decadence, when romances with similar, if somewhat
briefer, genealogies were taking their place in popular esteem, attempts
were made to embody in the old poems all the characteristics of the
new. By such manoeuvres as these they were enabled to survive till
the invention of printing. Then, clothed in a garb of prose, they were
freed from further radical changes, and a fresh lease of popularity
which may be said to have not yet expired in France was thus secured
for them. None of the Charlemagne romances exist in all these varied
f onus : some are extant in one shape, some in another ; but of all of
them such a development may be safely predicated.
§ 4. An examination of the earliest poem concerning Charles the
Great, of which any manuscript is extant, will best indicate the
leading features of the romances in their classical metrical shape,
like all of its <• ass, it treats of the deeds of a single hero closely
related to the Emperor, a fact which originally gave the poems the
name of chansons de geste.1 The Chanson de Roland has been
justly placed among the noblest literary monuments of the Middle
Ages, and has very many claim*, as we shall show later, to the
attention of English readers. It dates from the middle of the 11th
century. The famous story which it has to tell is the defeat of
Charles in the pass of the Pyrenees, and the death of Roland, his
nephew, and of eleven other peers, as his chief warriors were called
after an institution that comes iuto prominence in later French history.
The incident, like the stories of all the oldest chansons, is roughly
founded on a strictly historical basis. The episode is related in
Eginhard's2 authentic record of Charles' life, and to this day the
scene of the disaster, the Waterloo of early mediaeval France, goes, as
1 The word geste has many meanings in mediaeval French. Even in
the earliest time it signifies not only an achievement, but the history which
chronicles it Cf. Roland — Qo dit la gents. 1685, 2095. Later, as we explain
below, the word acquired the meaning of family. Traces of this usage appear
in Roland, cf. v. 788. Deus me cunfundet, se la geste en desment I
* Vita Karoli, ix. Passages from this and other historical authorities are
quoted and discussed in M. Gautier's lttirod., pp. xii-xvi.
§ 6. THE GENERAL STYLE OP LA CHANSON DE ROLAND. XI
in the poem, by the name of Roncevaux or Roncesvalles. In the oral
tradition, in which it reached the poet, there are many variations from
the historical version, and the changes, to which it has been submitted,
admirably illustrate the development that legendary history experi-
enced before and since at the hands of all the jongleurs de geste. In
778, the historian informs us, the rear-guard of a vast French army
retiring from a campaign in Spain against the Moors, was cut to
pieces in the mountains by a band of Gascon rebels, and in the
battle Roland, the commander of the Breton coast, and many other
imperial officers were slain. In the poem the Gascons become
Saracens, in accord with the Crusading temperament which was first
growing up in Europe at the time of its composition. Roland
is represented as the nephew of Charles in a desire which became
more intense in the later poets to unite ail their actors by lineal ties.
The defeat of the French is attributed to the treachery of Ganelon,
one of themselves, from whom afterwards descends the long line of
traitors who figure in subsequent romances, and finally the evil doers
are signally punished, — in order to give the story the moral tone
that is a permanent feature of later chansons de geste.1
§ 5. The general style of the poem closely counects it with the
cantiUnes. Its opening is as brusque as that of the Iliad. It
assumes on the part of its reader a knowledge of a large number of
shorter poems on various subjects, of most of which nothing is now
known in France except their names, though one of them has been
preserved in an early Icelandic version.2 The Chanson bears trace of
having already undergone many remaniemenfs, and of having itself
been originally constructed from a series of cantiUnes narrating
episodes of Charles' wars in Spain, bound together by a jongleurs
1 The versification of this poem is identical with that of all except the
latest chansons. It is written in decasyllabics arranged in stanzas or tirades
of varying lengths. The verses which number over 4000 in the earliest MSS.
are assonanced, that is to say, the vowel sounds of the last syllable in each
line of the tirade is the same. At the close of each stanza stands the word
AOI, which either marks the reciter's pauses or is a rough indication of a
musical note.
* Leon Gautier's Roland, pp. 60 and 375. The story of the capture of
Noplea, a little town in Spain, by Charles (Jo vus conquis e Noples e Com-
mibles, v. 198) is preserved in the Karla»iangu* Saga, the Icelandic collection
of Charlemagne romances.
ZU THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
improvisations.1 A simple, persistent religious spirit pervades the
poem. Its author was well acquainted with the stories of the Old
Testament, and, like Joshua, Charles makes the sun stand still. In
the characters of the heroes the poet has successfully portrayed the
doughty simplicity and strength, combined with the tenderness of
heart that we associate with the German races. They are drawn from
Frankish models, and are innocent of Roman culture. Charles himself
is of a patriarchal age, of unquestioned courage and irresistible author-
ity, and loves his nephew with a sincerity that, when the catastrophe
arrives, gives occasion to a scene of the purest pathos. Roland is a
rash warrior filled with a manly affection for his friend Oliver, but
at times he displays a childish pride which recalls Achilles to our
memory. Female influence finds no place in this or any early poem.
Roland, it is true, is affianced to la belle Aude, a sister of Oliver, but
she plays a curiously insignificant part Little that is supernatural
enters into the story. The miracle that Charles performs, and the
invincible nature of Joyeuse and Durendal, the swords of the
Emperor and of his nephew, fail to disturb the realistic current of
the narrative.2
1 JTist. PoH., pp. 70, 71.
2 The beauty of many portions of the poem and its vivid style may be
well illustrated by this short tirade (ccv) narrating Roland's death :
"Qo sent Rollanz de sun tens n'i ad plus :
Devers Espaigne gift en un pui agut.
A l'une main si ad sun piz batut :
4 Deus I meie oulpe par la tue vertut,
De mes pecchiez, des granz e des menus,
Que jo ai fait des Ture que nez fui
Tresqu' a cest jur que oi sui consouz 1 '
Sun destre guant en ad vers Deu tendut :
Angle de l'ciel i descendent a lui." — AOI.
The following translation of the passage, which loses very much of the force
of the original, may assist some readers. It is taken from Mr. Justice O'Hagan's
Song of Roland (Lond. 1880), p. 175. The rhymes destroy nearly all the
effect of the French rhythm.
" Roland feeleth his hour at hand ;
On a knoll he lies towards the Spanish land.
With one hand beats he upon his breast :
4 In thy sight, O God, be my sins confessed.
From my hour of birth, both the great and small,
Down to this day, I repent of all.'
As his glove he raises to God on high,
Angels of heaven descend him nigh."
§ 6. OTHERS OP ITS CLASS. § 7. THEIR LATER DEVELOPMENT. xiti
§ 6. Such are the general characteristics of this and probably very
many other early chansons de geste. Of the six or seven of identical
tone now familiar to us by name, some are still extant, while others
are only known from external evidence ; they are all referred to the
end of the 11th or the beginning of the 12th centuries. They deal
with similar military exploits, — with Charles' wars in Saxony, Lom-
bardy, or Apulia.1 In a few — of a little less early date — an attempt
was made to fill in the domestic details of the Emperor's life, and to
embody legends of his youth and marriage.2 In all, the historical
element is still present, though at times it grows very vague. To
the trouveurs of crusading times, the Saracens are the only known
enemies of the French, and the place that the Normans really held in
a great part of Europe during Charles' reign is erroneously transferred
to them. But in no important respect, except in feebler literary
style, — in greater coarseness and in more tedious repetition, — do these
poems differ from the Chanson de Roland.
§ 7. Towards the close of the 12th century, however, the Cliansons
de geste, and Roland with them, gradually underwent further changes.
They were lengthened unsparingly, and were inspired with a more
distinctly feudal spirit. They glorified the resistance of the barons
to their suzerains, in the disintegrating spirit of continental feudalism.
To Charles himself little respect is paid. His actions and speeches
exhibit him as a feeble dotard,8 and his vassals rise constantly
against his authority. " Laissomes ce vieillart qui tons est assotez,"
says one of the characters in Guy de Bourgogne, a chanson of the
12th century, and rebellions against his rule form a leading motive
in the poems of the date.4 The jongleurs and trouveurs freely reject
1 Such as Aspremont narrating the conquest of Apulia ; let Enfances Ogier,
that of Italy ; Gvitalin, that of Saxony ; and Balan, that of Italy. All of them
are not now extant in their early forms, hut in their existing shapes have evidently
not been radically altered from older originals. Of Balan, only a portion is still
preserved, which occurs in the later romance of Fierabras, — Hist. Pott. p. 73.
' Such is Berte au grand pied, the history of the mythical mother of
Charles, which is evidently a legend of great antiquity, although no reference
to Charles' youth occurs in the Chanson de Roland. — Hist. PoU. p. 73.
J He is also credited with a revolting sin, cp. Gautier, Les Epopies
Francoises, iii. 65-6.
4 No less than 18 Chansons of the period treat of les guerres de CJiarle-
ntagne contre ses vassavx. Among them is Huon of Bordeaux, and Renaud of
Montauban, the Clianson of the eldest of the four sons of Aymon.
Xiv THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
historical traditions, and with little diffidence invent new incidents
and characters. The increased influence of the Crusades induced
them to send their heroes, and, Charles among the number, to Con-
stantinople, to Jerusalem, and to the further East, and novel adven-
tures are thus provided to meet them at every turn. The female
characters grow more important, and every warrior becomes enam-
oured of a Saracen maiden. The poets were now for the first time enter-
ing into rivalry with Chretien de Troyes, the author of Percevale, and
of Eric et Enide, French versions of the Breton tales of King Arthur,
and were incorporating with the old narratives stories of pure adven-
ture and enchantment which harmonized ill with the severe facts of
the ancient legends. The romance before us may itself be ascribed
in its earliest extant form to this class of chansons, and supplies us
with copious illustrations of its characteristic features.
§ 8. One other change in principle the chansons de geste were
slowly experiencing throughout the 13th century. There was some-
thing conservative about this new development : although it boldly
defied all historical probability, it strictly defined the limits within
which the poets, who adopted its method, might allow their imagina-
tion to work. Not content with rehearsing the careers of individuals,
the att?mpt was made to combine the separate poems into great
cycles, which should narrate the fortunes of families of warriors.
The poets recklessly created relationships between the various heroes
of the isolated chansons, and by endowing them with similar charac-
teristics and destinies, they attempted to force upon their romances
some internal unity. Frequently their object was to connect their
patrons and their patrons' enemies with warriors or traitors of olden
time. Their tone was purely realistic, and the practice gave a new
meaning to the word geste, and chansons de geste were interpreted
as family histories. Charles or his father is the progenitor of the chief
apocryphal family of the kind, but two other lines are known at least
to have been worked up by the trouveurs with equal care.1 Some,
1 N*ot ke .III. gestes en France la garnie: Dou roi de France est la
plus seignorie. . . . Et l'autre apres, bien est droit que je die, Est de Doon a
la barbe florie. Cil de Maianoe qui tant ot baronie. ... La tierce geste, qui
molt fist a proisier, Fu de Garin de Monglaine le fier. Oirart de Viane, pp.
1, 2, chanson, of prob. first years of 13th century, quoted in Hist. Podt. p. 76.
§ 9. THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN THE HTH CENTURY. XV
like the LabdacidaB and Pelopidae, were represented as bearing a fatal
curse, but no religious notion, as in the Greek stories, was mingled
with its transmission. It was wholly ascribed to the accident of
blood relationship, and there was no further attempt to explain its
cause. Doon of Mayence, the father of one of the geste, has, for
example, the questionable honour of being regarded by the writers of
this class of Chansons as the ancestor, through Ganelon, the villain
of Koncesvalles, of a whole army of earthly traitors. All who inter-
marry with his family inevitably grow as sinful as their kinsmen.1
§ 9. After the 14th century there is little fixed principle in the
development of the Charlemagne romances. Additions and interpola-
tions, sequels and prologues of pure invention follow each other in rapid
succession. The jongleurs' chief endeavour was to catch the popular
ear, and with that object before them they adopted every changing
literary fashion. It was in vain that the older trouveurs protested that
they were losing sight of the historical spirit of their predecessors.
M Chil nouvel jougleor, par leur outrecuidanche
Et pour leur nouviaus dis, Tout mis en oublianche/'
ifl the complaint of the author of Doon de Maience* When the
Alexandrian romances were at the height of their popularity, their
versification was borrowed with its twelve-syllabled lines — a metre
still known by the name of the hero which it was first employed to
celebrate.3 Similarly, the authors of the chansons tried to refine
the savagery of their old characters by foisting upon them the gentle
courtesy of the Arthurian heroes and heroines. In many of their com-
positions the magical element of Eastern literature finds a large place,
and in the later Middle Ages their successors made no resistance to
the spurious chivalry that overran all the literature and social life of
the period.4 At the same time Charles, history, as it was narrated
1 The Chanson Doon de Maienee dates from the 14th century. Alxinger, the
German poet, attempted to make of a later form of it an epic poem in 1787.
* Ed. Pey. p. 1, quoted in M. Guessard's Introd. to ffuon, p. vy.
' The poem of Roland actually underwent the alteration. Cf. M. Gautier's
Introd,, p. xxxvij. Huon and other poems were wholly rewritten in Alex-
andrines.
4 Vide, for example, the ohanges that came over the story of Ogier le
Danoity of whioh a great portion exists in a 12th century version. In the latest
version the Hero visits the palace of Avallon, and is saved by the fairy Morgana,
the sister of King Arthur, who, also living there, is visited by the Knights of his
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XVi TUB CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
in the chansons, found its way into the Chronicles and Latin ecclesi-
astical poems,1 as at an earlier date the traditional poetry concerning
Roland had entered the Chronicle wrongly ascribed to Turpin, and
there the legends were fated to assume a markedly clerical tone.
§ 10. About the date of the invention of printing the metrical
romances received their final form.2 They were reduced in their
contemporary shape to prose, and were soon afterwards printed and
published. Many of them are characterized by the affectations and
intricacies of style which Cervantes has powerfully satirized in his
introduction to Don Quixote, But the earliest Chansons have for
the most part escaped this final desecration. The simplicity of the
Chanson de Roland did not satisfy the perverted literary tastes of an
age which was wont to "praise Syr Topaz for a noble tale." All
knowledge of it in its purest shape was lost ; the manuscripts con-
taining it disappeared, and the one revealing it to us in its 11th
century form was only recovered during the present century.
§ 11. We need not dwell for our present purpose on the latex
history of the Charlemagne romances. The rise of the theatre did not
affect them. With their characters continually repeated, with their
perpetual battles, with their lack of female interest, they did not lend
themselves to dramatization, and with only one or two was the experi-
ment ever made in France. A few poems, based on incidents in Charles'
romantic career, appeared in France in the 17th century. Napoleon,
who posed in Europe as the 19 th century Charlemagne, encouraged the
study of his authentic and fictitious history, and his brother Lucien had
the temerity to publish a volume of verses on " le digne precurseur de
son frere." The romantic movement of the last century did not imme-
diately affect the Charlemagne romances. They were known only in
the late and degenerate prose versions, and although extracts from them
were published in La Bibliothhqw des Romans about 1778, all trace
of their development was sought in vain. It was in the 19th century
Round Table. Ogier's magical return to youth, and all the magical machinery
of the late romance are probably of Eastern origin. See Hist. PoH. pp.
305-13 ; and Dunlop, Hist, of Fiction (edit. 1845), pp. 138-140.
1 Hist. Poet. pp. 92-107.
* Prose versions of thirteen Chansons were printed in France between 1480
and 1500.— Hist. PoH. p. 470.
§ 12. THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN ENGLAND. XV.;i
that a vigorous and sustained effort was first made to learn their
history, and to rediscover their original forms. The result of this
endeavour, with which the name of Paulin Paris must be chiefly con-
nected, has been to give the metrical romances a place among the
most cherished remains of French mediaeval poetry, and to raise about
them a gigantic critical literature.
§ 12. If we carefully bear in mind the development of the French
Charlemagne romances, which has here been very briefly sketched, we
can readily determine the relations to which those that have been intro-
duced into England stand towards them. One criticism may be made
on nearly the whole of the English series. They almost all bear trace
of being mere translations from French originals, although these have
not always reached us. New details are occasionally introduced, but
their leading features are literally borrowed, nor have the translators
chosen the best or purest models. They have taken chansons de
geste of the 14th and 15th centuries, and those of an earlier date
appear to be unknown to them. The explanation, that a learned
French critic has suggested for the fact i3 probably the true one.
" At the time when our epic poetry was flourishing," he says, " that
is, in the 13th and far more in the 12th centuries, our chansons de
geste did not require translation to be understood in England by all
whom they could interest; and in the 14th century when English
writers wished to appropriate some of them, the old poems had been
re- written, and the best of the early ones forgotten."1 The circum-
stances that the Clianson de Roland, believed by several French
writers to be the work of a Norman,2 was read as generally in
England as in France, and that the earliest extant manuscript of
another Chanson of the 12th century, relating to Charles1 apocryphal
travels, leaves no doubt that it was prepared for Anglo-Norman
readers,3 gives the best possible support to such . criticism. The
small effect that the English Charlemagne romances (except in the
special case of Huon of Bordeaux) have had on our later literature is
1 M. Paul Meyer in La Biblwtheqve de VEcole des Chartet (1867), p. 309.
* Such i« the opinion of M. Gautier, Introd. to Roland, pp. xix — xxiv.
5 Cp. Charlemagne, an Anglo-Norman poem now first published by M.
Francesque Michel, 1836. The MS. is in the Brit. Museum. King's Library,
16, E. viii.
CHARL. UOM. VI. b
XVlii THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
attributable mainly to two causes. In the first place their literary
inferiority must be generally acknowledged, and in the second they
were in constant rivalry with the Arthurian romances which, although
also borrowed from France, appealed more nearly to the history of our
own past, and attracted by their gentle chivalrous tone, and their
greater abundance of human interest, many writers possessed of a
literary power which effectually naturalized them in this country.
But it would be as serious an error to under-estimate, as to over-
estimate, the influence of the Charlemagne literature in this country,
and for myself I believe it has not yet, as a whole, been adequately
measured.
§ 13. Including all the fragments of which we have any remains,
the English romances are ten in number. Several of them treat of the
same legend. Seven are in a metrical form, and have been referred
to dates varying from the middle of the 14th to the opening of the
succeeding century. Three are translations of prose versions, and
appeared in England soon after the invention of printing.1 The quasi-
1 For the use of students the general results at which the editors in this
series have arrived as to the number, date, and origin of the English Charle-
magne Romances may be tabulated thus :
PROBABLE OBIGIN8.
1. An early version of the Fierabras
story in JJaUin, a lost Chanson
(12th a).
2. Fierabra*, Chanson de geste (13th
c).
3. French prose romance of Fierabra*
(1 5th a), formed of the Ch. de g.
with extracts and additions from
late Chronicles.
1. a & j8. Remnants of a small Eng-
lish cycle, of which a is probably
based on Chroniclers' (and mainly
Turpin's) summaries of Chansons,
not now known.
/3. Derived from a version of Otinel
other than that in the extant Chan-
son of the name.
2. Late prologue to Ch. de g. Otinel
(13th c.) not extant in France.
3. Otinel, Chanson de geste (13th a).
ENGLISH CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES.
A. Fierabra* cycle.
I, " ~ "
* 1^2. Sir Ferumbras (? 1380).
1. The Simdone of Babylone
(? 1400).
Prose. 3. Charles the Grete, 1485
[Caxton].
B. Otinel (or Otuel) cycle.
* 1. a. Roland and Vernagu.
p. Otvel [Auchinleck MS.].
2. Sege of Melayne (? 139 ).
3. Otuel [Thornton M&] 71390.
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§ 13. THE CLASSIFICATION OP THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES. xix
historical events, to which all with four exceptions refer, are prior to
the great expedition to Spain, in which Roland met his death, but
they have a very vague historical foundation. The death or conver-
sion of Saracen chiefs, and the marriage of their hastily-baptized
daughters with Christian heroes are invariably the central motives of
the poems, and the French warriors are challenged to fight with
truly ' damnable iteration 1 by Saracen giants like Ferumbras, Otuel,
and Vernagu. The early romances do not evince strong crusading
tendencies so distinctly as an emphatic ecclesiastical or theological
tone of thought, which is not present in any but the late French
poems. Fierabras and Otinel, two well-known chansons de geste,
have inspired the greater number of the Early English romance*.
They narrate the struggles between Charles, as the champion of the
Papacy, and the Saracen enemies of Rome ; in the first romance the
Emperor's object is to recover Iss reliques de la Passion, and in the
second to baptize the leading opponent of Christianity. In their
extant French forms both poems date from the 13th century; but
they bear traces of having already undergone frequent remanieinents,
and although they are free from the extravagant interpolations com-
mon to those of a later date, they are far from being the best literary
examples of their class. Of Fierabras, Sir Ferumbras, the metrical
romance, which appeared first in this series, is a fairly literal English
rendering,1 and Caxton's prose romance of Charles the Grete is trans-
lated from an extended French prose version of the same Chanson.2
Fierabras, in an earlier form, originally constituted the central por-
tion of a longer poem known to some early chroniclers, under the
C. Detached Romances.
•g f 1. Rowland*' t Song (? 1400). 1. Remaniemcnt (13th c), of Chan-
J < ton de Roland, now unknown,
j ( 2. Ravf Coityar (c. 1475). 2. Most probably oiginal.
f 3. Four tons of Aymon, 1490 8. French prose version (15th o.) of
[Caxton], the Ch. de g., Renaud de Montanban
(13th a).
4. Huon of Bordeaux, ? 1634 4. French prose version (15th c.) of the
[Bernere]. Ch. de g. Hnon de Bordeaux ( 1 3th c).
1 The English Charlemagne Romances, Pt. I. Sir Ferumhrat, edited by
Sidney J. Herrtage. B.A., E. E. T. S. 1879. (From Ashmole MS. 33.)
* Pts. III. and IV. ed. 8. J. Herrtage. 1880-1. (From unique Brit. Mus.
copy.)
b 2
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XX THE CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
title of Balan, and the Sowdone of Babylone, which is evidently an
adaptation of a more detailed version of the opening part of the
story of Fierabras than that to be found in the surviving Chanson,
is probably based on a portion of the lost cycle, doubtless extant in
the time of the English translator.1 Similarly, Otinel has given birth
to two metrical translations, of which the one in the Thornton MS.
adheres with much literalness2 to the Chanson, as we now have it, and
the other, in the Auchinleck MS., is altogether freer in its general
treatment, and perhaps drawn from a remaniement other than any we
now possess.3 The two romances of The Sege of Mdayne* and
Roland and Vernagu 5 can be referred to no known French poems,
but we must hesitate before pronouncing them original English
productions. The former is probably taken from some introduction
to Otinel, written at the period when every Charlemagne legend was
receiving various amplifications. The latter is reasonably thought
by M. Gaston Paris, to have belonged to an English poem of the
14th century, bearing some such title as 'Charlemagne and Roland,'
mainly based on extracts from Turpin's Chronicles and a late version
of Otinel.
Of the remaining English romances the fragment of the Song of
Roland is drawn from a poor 13th century version of the great
Clianson de Roland* Caxton's Four Sons of Aymon7 and Lord
Berner's Huon of Bordeaux,8 are both direct translations of French
prose romances, that is, of amplified and corrupted versions of two
13th century chansons de geste, Renaud de Montauban, and Huon
de Bordeaux. Rauf Coil^ear, in the absence of all evidence to the
contrary, has been regarded as an original English poem.9 It is
evidently of a late date, and its connection with the other Charle-
magne legends is very slight. Thus almost all the English romances
share the characteristics of those chansons de geste which have under-
1 Pt V. The JRomaunce of the Sowdone of Babylone, edited by Dr.
Hausknecht (E. E. T. 8.). 1881. (From Phillipps' MS.)
* Pt. II. pp. 53-105. Ed. by S. J. Herrtage. (E. E. T. S.) 1880.
8 Pt. VI. pp. 65, et seq. Ed. S. J. Herrtage. (E. E. T. S.) 1882.
* Pt. II. pp. 1-63. * Pt. VI. pp. 1-65.
6 Pt. II. pp. 105-137. (From unique Lansdowne MS.)
* Pt. IX. (Not yet reprinted.)
* Pte. VII. and VIII. (1882.)
• Pt VI. (1882.)
§ H. THE PLACE OF THE ROMANCES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. Xxi
gone numerous renovations. Of the Charlemagne poems in their
purest sliapes English literature clearly knows nothing.
§ 14. Of the popularity of each of these poems, which in the case
of Ferumbras and Otud was certainly great in the 14th and 15 th
centuries, evidence has been given in the prefaces to the various
volumes that have already been published, but in the general survey
I am here taking I may bring together a few general facts to
demonstrate the limits of their influence. We believe that in the
early Middle Ages our Norman ancestors were generally well ac-
quainted with the great incidents of the series of legends, although
of the vastness of the cycle they knew little. Descriptions of
Charles and stories of Roland, for example, were certainly received
here with universal favour. It is very probable, as many have
pointed out, that the Chanson de Roland was sung by the Normans
at the battle of Senlac.1 M. Gautier is of opinion that it is the
work of an Anglo-Norman poet, and some French critics have even
ascribed it to a famous abbot of Peterborough.2 Beside these dis-
putable opinions we may place the facts that the earliest and chief
manuscript of this poem has been for many centuries, and is still, in
an English library, and that Anglo-Norman versions of other Charle-
magne romances leave no doubt that they were largely read in
England in the 12th and 13th centuries. Norman-French poems of
the period, moreover, always do honour to Charlemagne and Roland.
In some verses, in an early English poem, probably of the time of
Edward I., we meet with such a passage as this :
Fele ro manses men make newe
Of good knyghtes strong and trewe ;
Of hey dedys men rede romance,
Both in England and in Fraunce,
Of Rowelood and of Olyver
And of everie Doseper.3
In later times the Pyrenees were always identified in England with
the disaster of Roncesvalles, and when the Black Prince's expedition to
1 Mr. Herrtage quotes the famous lines from Wace's Raman de Ron on
the point (Pt. IL of the Series, p. xix). Mr. Freeman, in his Norman Conqne»t
(iii. 478), is of opinion that Wace's statement refers to the Cftanson.
* In trod, to Roland, xiv-xxvi.
8 Quoted in Warton's English Poetry from an introductory poem to
Richard Cuer de Lion (temp. Ed. I.), P- 25. (Hazlitt's Edition.)
XXli THK CHARLKMAGNE ROMANCES IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
Spain was celebrated in a Latiu poem, a monkish gloss reminded its
readers that Carolus magnus rediens de Hispania amisit ibi Rothelande
et caeteros in Rowncivale sepidtos.1 Chaucer, moreover, and other
poets knew Ganelon, the traitor of Roncesvalles, as a typical villain,
worthy of a place beside Judas Iscariot or Sinon.2 One circumstance
in the legend of Roland — his friendship for Oliver — has given us
a very common proverbial phrase which France never possessed.3
Spenser, like many of his predecessors from the time of Robert of
Brunne, has anglicized the word douzeperes, which in the Charlemagne
romances is the technical name of the twelve chief companions of the
Emperor, and uses it in the singular ii} the sense of a mighty warrior.*
And for a long time in England the fame of the defeat of Roncesvalles
survived in a common adjectival epithet, and a strong voice or a strong
woman was known as a rouncival voice or a rouncival woman.5
After the Middle Ages Charles the Great grew less familiar to
Englishmen, but he was not unknown to them, and the prose
romances, which only show him in, inglorious dotage, were widely
read. More than oue play in the 16th century was based on his
exploits and those of his companions, and Dyce's statement that
he was unacquainted with any old play in which that monarch
figures must be regarded as based on imperfect information.6 We
* Wright's Political Poem. i. 105. (Rolls' Series.)
* Chaucer, Nonne Prestes Tale, 15,232-4. The Fox is thus addressed :—
" O false morderour, rucking in thy den 1
O newe Scariot, n+we Qenelon,
O false dissiniulour, O Greek Sinon."
See also Monkes Tale, 14,653-6.
8 The exact origin of A Ityland for an Oliver, which is omitted, so far as
I can see, from W. C. Hazlitt's English Proverbs, has never been explained.
The French expression of the same character runs — Je lui baillerai Guy
contre Robert, discussion some years ago, in Notes and (Queries, as to the
growth of the phrase, failed to throw any real light on the subject.
4 Cp. 4 Big-looking, like a doughty Doucepere,' Faerie Qtteene, III. x.
30. Warton in his Observations on the Faerie Queene (i. 262-8) gives an
instructive account of the use of the word in Eugland.
6 Nares' Diet. (ed. Halliwell and Wright), s.v. RotincivaU, large, strong.
1 Th'art a good rouncival voice to cry lantern and candlestick.' — Satiroinastix.
Speaking of gigantic bones seen at Roncesvalles, Mandeville says, 4 Hereof I
t«ke it conies that seeing a great woman we say she is a RotvncevaU' — Travels.
Fol. 22. Ed. 1600. Similarly, Tusser, as Mr. 5errtage points out tQ me, calls
marrow-fat peas, * r unci vail peas/ — Husbondry, ch. xli. 1. 9.
6 Hyce's Peclc, ii. 88.
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§14. THEIR PLACE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE.
XXlll
have at least one drama in manuscript, of which he is the hero,1 and
two others are known to have existed, although no longer extant,
in which he must have played an important part.2 Meanwhile
Roland or Orlando was re-introduced to English readers in Elizabeth's
reign by Sir John Harrington's popular translation of Ariosto's
Orlando Furioso, and upon this foundation Robert Greene based one
of his tame dramatic productions.3 And, though the Roland of the
Italian poet differed very much from his prototype in the chansons
de geste, his reappearance in a new form temporarily renewed their
familiarity with his name and many of his characteristic adventures.
Shortly after the 16th century, Charles the Great and Roland, like
other mediaeval heroes, were practically lost sight of in England, and
little attempt has since been made to revive an interest in their
legendary history. Not even in chap-books were their achievements
perpetuated, and they failed to attract the genius of any great literary
worker who might have given them a lasting place in the higher
branches of our literature. We have in all periods to seek in some-
what obscure places for indications of their popularity, and, although
we may legitimately infer that the Charlemagne heroes were ever
held in high honour in mediae vai and Tudor England, and although
we know that they made their way into the common parlance of our
countrymen, we cannot regard them, with one exception, as leaving
upon our literature any deep or permanent impression.
1 My friend, Mr. A. H. Bullen, has pointed out to me the Egerton MS.,
1994, in the British Museum, where the play is to be found. He has given an
account of it in the 2nd volume of his Collection of Old Plays, and I have
there, at his request, added a note on the manner in which the legend,
embodied in the play, reached this country.
* They were based on Caxton's Ibnr Sons of Aymon and Berners* Huon
of Bordeaux. Vide Renslowe's Diary, and infra, p. xlvii.
3 The Historic of Orlando Furioso, one of the Twelve Pieres of France,
1594. Jnfra, p. xlix.
xxiv
II.
THE ROMANCE OP HUON OP BORDEAUX.
§ I. Tlie \3th century Chanson de
geste, p. xxiv.
§ 2. Its story, p. xxv.
§ 3. Its main characteristics, p.
xxvi.
§ 4. Historical traditions of Huon,
p. xxviii.
§ 5. The origin of the Oberon-legend,
p. xxix.
§ 6. The character of Oberon in tlie
early romance, p. xxxi.
§ 7. Amplifications of the Romance,
p. xxxii.
§ 8. The continuations in tlie Turin
Manuscript, p. xxxiii.
§ 9. Other developments of the story
in France and Holland, p.
xxxv.
§ 10. The French prose version, p.
xxxvi.
§ 1 1. Later history of tlie romance in
France, p. xxxvii.
§ 12. 'The English translation, p.
xxxviii.
§ 13. The political career of Lord
Bcrners, p. xl.
§ 14. His literary character, p. xlii.
§ 15. His translation of Froissart,
p. xliv.
§ 16. Other works, p. xlv.
§ 17. Lord Ber iters' death, p. xlv.
§ 18. Romances in Elizabttlian Eng-
land, p. xlvi.
§19. Popularity of Huon of Bor-
deaux, 1547 — 1594, p. xlviii.
§ 20. Oberon in English literature,
p. xlix.
§ 21. Bibliography of Huon of Bor-
deaux, p. lii.
§ 22. Conclusion, p. lvii.
§ 1. The romance of Huon of Bordeaux illustrates in several
ways the general remarks I have been making on both the French
and English versions of the Charlemagne legeuds, but, beyond the
characteristics that it has in common with its class, it possesses cer-
tain features peculiar to itself, that perhaps give it its highest interest
in the eyes of English readers. In France it has undergone a very
extended development, capable of a clearer presentation than in the
case of many other of the chansons de geste ; in England, translated
almost literally, it has not only enjoyed its full share of popularity,
but, by supplying the Elizabethan poets with the story of Oberon,
has exerted upon English literature an influence to which no other
members of its class can legitimately lay claim.
None of the forms in which we know the romance of Huon can
be referred to a very early date. The oldest extant chanson de rjeste
on the subject, the manuscript of which is now in the library of
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§ 2. ITS STORY.
XXV
Tours, possesses hardly any of the characteristics of the Chanson de
Roland.1 Its incidents are more complicated, and belong for the
most part to a very different world. The central interest of the
poem is divided between the peer of France, who plays the title-roVe,
and an omnipotent and omniscient dwarf, who adorns the throne of
fairy land. It is impossible to ascribe the story, as it first appears,
to any date anterior to the middle of the 13th century. Four
times was it probably rewritten in metre before the invention of
printing, when it was reduced to prose in France, and in that garb
brought to our own chores. But in spite of the amplifications and
continuations that the tale has experienced — changes which have
more than tripled its original length — the first half of both the
French and English prose versions has preserved with little alter-
ation the story as it appears in the 13th c-ntury chanson. The
chapters printed in the volume before us present the old story in
its original literary shape. The last portion of Lord Berners' trans-
lations, like his French original, owes its origin to sources of far less
antiquity.
§ 2. So much of the legend of Huon as reverts to the 13th
century is to the following effect. The story in the Chanson opens
four years after the death of Seguin, the duke of Bordeaux. His
two young sons, Huon and Gerard, who have inherited his property,
have not as yet done homage to the Emperor, their suzerain. But
their troubles have already begun. A traitor at Charles' court, Earl
Amaury by name, covets their inheritance, and on the ground that
they have not already acknowledged in person their vassalage,
denouuces them to Charles as rebels against his authority. The
Emperor at the moment is of great age and feeble health, and, being
about to resign his crown in favour of his son Chariot, is desirous
that his supremacy should be recognized in every part of his
dominions. Huon and Gerard are, therefore, ordered to appear at
once before him at Paris, or forfeit their estates to the Earl, who
1 For an account of the MS. Bee M. Guesssrd's edition of the poem,
Pari a, I860, p. xxxix. et sea. Its versification is like that of La Chanson, but
its tirades are much longer, extending at times to 500 vv. The length of the
Chanson is 10,495 lines. Neither the name nor province of the author is
known.
XXVI
TUB ROMANCE OF HUON OP BORDEAUX,
had called the Emperor's attention to their dereliction of duty.
Well aware that they could give satisfactory proofs to their royal
master of their loyalty, the traitor, as soon as he learnt that the
youths were on their way to the capital, induced the prince Chariot,
Charles' elder son, over whom he exercised unlimited control, to
join him in a plot for waylaying and killing them on their journey.
But his plans were unsuccessful. Chariot wounds Gerard, hut is
himself slain by Huon. The Emperor, on learning the death of his
son, vows eternal vengeance upon his murderer. A duel between
Huon and Amaury, which proves fatal to the latter, only inflames his
wrath, and he finally dismisses the young knight on a grotesque, but
perilous, and, to all appearance, fatal mission to Babylon. There the
first part of the chanson de geste, of Huon of Bordeaux may be said
to close, and in the remaining verses the form of the story somewhat
changes. Very perilous indeed are the adventures that Huon meets
in the East, although he is fortunate enough to find a companion in
Gerames, an old friend of his father's, who is living a hermit's life
among the Saracens. To most of the dangers he must have succumbed,
had he only relied on human means of protection. Happily, however,
he finds other aid. Oberon, the dwarf -king of the fairies, whose
dominions lie between Jerusalem and Babylon, taking pity on the
knight's misfortunes, proffers his assistance, and with such support
Huon not only successfully performs his mission, hut woos and mar-
ries Esclaramonde, the daughter of the Emir of Babylon, on her con-
version to Christianity. On his return to France the treachery of his
brother Gerard plunges him once again into difficulties, but Oberon
extricates him from the new dangers, reconciles him to the Emperor,
and ultimately names him his successor on the throne of fairy land.
§ 3. The story, it will be perceived, has all the characteristics which
were attributed to the chanson* de gestes in their decline. Charlemagne
has no dignity about his bearing. His power is jealously regarded
by his vassals, and he is more than once placed in a position of
signal humiliation. " Syr, yf ye do as ye haue sayde," are the words
addressed to him by one of his counsellors in Lord Berners' version,
which here almost literally translates the old French poem — "Sir,
yf ye do as ye haue sayd, I nor neuer any other man shall truste you,
§ 3. ITS MAIN CHARACTERISTICS. XXVii
& euery man shall say, fare & nere, that herof (hear of) thys
extorsyow, that in the end of your dayes ye are become chyldysche,
& more lyke a sot then a wyse man."1 Other circumstances are still
more decisive. A reference to Tristram's love for the u fayre Ysoude "
and some points in the genealogy of Oberon, indicate that the author
was acquainted with the Arthurian romances,2 and Huon's statement
that he " departyd out of fraunce . . . That any aduenture that I
myght here of, though it were neuer so perelous that I shulde neuer
eschew it for any fere of deth," brings him in close relations with the
heroes of the romans cTaventures.* The absurd length to which the
writer pushes the endeavour, that characterizes the later poems of the
jongleurs, to bring his hero into lineal relationship with all sorts and
conditions of men with whom he comes in contact on his journeyings,
is another testimony to the lateness of the present form of the legend.4
The important place which the enchantments of Oberon hold in
the story, the care bestowed on the treatment of the character and
influence of Esclaramonde, the hero's bride, and the extravagant
unreality of Huon's adventures in the East, likewise supply con-
clusive evidence in favour of a similar inference. The 13th century
Chanson must be positively placed among those romances which
attempt to graft on the simple lines of the pure chansons de geste
the varied incident of the tales of the Round Table, and the magical
machinery of Eastern stories like the Arabian Nights' Entertainment
1 Infra, p. 47, 11. 9, et seq.—
" Quant les noveles iront par la paw
Que diront tout li haut homme jentil ?
Voe jugemens n'ert mais en France ois,
Tout diront mais, li grant et li petit ;
Qu'en vo viellece estes tous rasotis."
Hvon de Bordeaux, 11. 22-29, et seq.
See also, Oberon's reference to the Emperor's fatal sin, 11. 10,225, et seq., and
infra, p. 258.
2 Infra, p. 157, 1. 27, Hvon de Bordeaux, 1. 6808,—
" Tristrans morut por bele Iseut amer."
For Oberon 's genealogy see below, pp. 72-3.
3 Infra, p. 97, \.\,et seq., and Hmn, I. 4595, et seq.
4 Huon claims relationship with the Pope of Rome, with the Abbot of
Cluny, with Garyn of Saint Omers, a lord of Brindisi, with Macaire, the
pagan tyrant of Tormont, with Sebylle, the prisoner of the castle of Dunostre,
and many others, as the reader will perceive for himself.
Digitized by
xxviii
THE ROMANCE OF HUON OP BORDEAUX.
§ 4. There are many traces in the poem itself of a legend of a
previous period, devoid of such embellishments as I have noticed, —
of a chanson celebrating Huon's exploits before an enchanted world
had become a commonplace with the trouveurs or jongleurs. Much
of the versification of the 13th century, for example, has an older
rhythm.1 The story of the causes of Huon's banishment, after a
few slight modifications have been made, has an early mediaeval tone,2
and, although the historical element is not readily detected, it is easy
to perceive that in it has been incorporated many vague memories of
early historical events. An early chronicler tells us how a duke of Bor-
deaux, whose son once challenged Chariot, the Emperor's heir, bore, like
the father of the hero of the romance,8 the name of Seguin. Instances,
moreover, of such disagreement with the ruler of France as Huon
exhibits, occur frequently in the history of the princes of Aquitaine
in the 8th century. Similarly, an early manuscript of an epic poem
of the 12th century, narrating the exploits of the chief warriors
of Lorraine — Les Loherai?isy — contains seventeen verses which
tell how Huon, the son of duke Seguin of Bordeaux, slew an earl
at Paris, and, being for the crime banished the Empire, went to
Loinbardy, where he married the daughter of a Count, and finally
died of poison.4 If this form of the legend has little claim to be
considered of the highest antiquity, it sufficiently proves that Oberon
was not originally the protector of Huon after his banishment, and
that his journey to the East may be regarded as purely apocryphal.
But a closer parallel to the adventures of Huon at Paris has been
found by a recent writer in Bomania, in historical facts which pos-
sibly have a better claim to be considered as the prototype of the
tale. Certain events that took place under Charles the Bald are
almost identical with those recorded in the first part of the romance.
And, if we allow the general resemblance, the confusion of identity
between the Emperor and his grandson, an error that could be
1 This and the recurrence of the same couplets are noted by M. Gautier in
his support of this view. — Les Epoptes Franpaises, iii. 732.
* That is to say, the first 2000 lines of the Chanson and just 20 chapters
of this text (pp. 1-5?).
3 Les EpopSes Francoises, iii. 732.
4 Quoted by M. Gautier (as above).
§ 5. THE ORIGIN OF THE OBERON-LEGEND.
xxix
paralleled in all popular literature, need not cause us much embar-
rassment. During the reign of Charles the Bald, authentic records
tell us, the county of Bordeaux was governed by a duke, riamed
Segnin, whose bold defence of Saintonge against the Normans, usually
confounded in the French national traditions with the Saracens,
exactly fitted him to be the hero of popular cantiUnes and of later
epic narrative. Similarly, Charles the Bald's eldest son closely
resembles the Chariot of the romance. Like the latter, he was
u ryght pryuey " with traitors,1 and he was slain by a brave warrior
in pursuit of a foolish adventure.2 How these floating traditions
of Segmn, Huon and the heir of Charles the Bald may have crystal-
lized, and at length have been introduced into the great Charlemagne
epic cycle, is a process of assimilation that must be readily intelligible
to the student of popular mythology.
§ 5. As early as the 13th century, however, we have evidence that
Oberon became an essential part of the story. Albericus Trium
Fontium, in his chronicles which were finished about 1240, gives a
version of the legend very similar to that of the romance. " Mortuus
est," he writes, "etiam hoc anno (810) Sewinus dux Burdegalensis,
cui fratres fuerunt Alelmus et Ancherus, hujus Sewini filii Gerardus
et Hugo, qui Karolum, filium Karoli, casu interfeoit, Almaricum
proditoreni in duello vicit, exul de patria ad mandatum regis fugit,
Alberonem, virvm mirabilem et fortunatum repei-it, et ccetera sive
fabulosa sive historica connexa." 8 The passage constitutes one of the
earliest records of the existence of the fairy king under the name of
Oberon (Auberon) in European literature, and his importance in our
own literature, together with the part he takes in the romance l>efore
us, is sufficient excuse for our dwelling on his origin and early history.
M. Gaston Paris has attempted to show that an apocryphal prince of
1 Infra, p. 15.
* M. Loognon in Romania, t iii., has carefully worked out the probable
connection of Huon with the reign of Charles the Bald, and has reprinted from
yarious early chronicles all that is known of Seguin or the young Charlea.
Chariot bears in Huon exactly the opposite character to that which he does in
the earlier Chanson de Qette of " Ogier le Danois," and there is no historical
basis for his treacherous behaviour, unless we admit M. Longnon's theory.
Gautier, Let Epoptet Francaine*, vol. iii. 734.
3 M. Guessard's Huon de Bordeaux, p. xij.
XXX
THE ROMANCE OP HUON OP BORDEAUX.
the Merovingian dynasty, who was credited with singular powers
of enchantment, bore the name of Albericw, but we are not ready to
regard the Oberon-legend as based on any strictly historical foundation.1
He is probably a purely mythical character, and, so far, is wholly
foreign to the Charlemagne cycle ; but, nevertheless, the author of
Huon has not the slightest logical justification for placing him in an
Eastern environment. He springs from the mythology of the Western
world, and though many arguments have been advanced to connect
him with Celtic or Welsh myths, I incline to the opinion that he
is purely Teutonic. M. de la Villemarque* has most vigorously
supported the Celtic theory. He identifies the fairy king with the
ruler of the enchanted world in Welsh romances, Gwyn-Araun by
name, of which he claims Oberon (i. e. Auberon, as it is usually
spelt in French) to be a literal translation. In Welsh mythology
he asserts that Gwyn is brought up, like Oberon, by " Morge li f^e,"
and, similarly, is a dwarf in appearance, and bears at his neck a
magic horn.2 But the Germanic theory is based on firmer and
wider foundations. Auberon, as Keightley long ago pointed out,
very closely resembles the dwarf Elbericli or Alberich, who figures
in many early German folk tales.8 In the Niebelungen-lied Alberich
is the guardian of the celebrated hoard which Siegfried won from the
Niebelungen, and in a story of the Heldenbuch, a collection of
German romances of the 13th century, a king of the elves bearing
the same name plays a rdle very similar to that of Oberon in Huon
of Bordeaux. Here Ortnit, a German emperor, visits the Sultan
of Syria to gain his daughter. Alberich meets him on his journey,
and aids him in his quest. He is three feet in height, can foresee
the future, and forbids, as in the case of Huon and Esclaramonde,
1 Cp. Revue Ocrmaniqtie, xvi. p. 387.
8 See his letter on the subject in M. Guessard's edition of Huon de
Bordeaux. Paris, 1860, pp. xxv-xxix. M. Gaston Paris positively denies that
Gwyn-Araun is a translation of Auberon, and thus the basis of Villemarqu6's
theory is destroyed. Gwyn = white, but Aube, it is asserted, never represented
in French the Latin album (i. e. Fr. blanc). Bexme Germaniqve, xvi. pp.
350-90.
3 Keightley's Ihiry Mythology, p. 206. Alberich is connected by Grimm
(Deutsche Mythologie, p. 699) with Alp- Alb- E b = elf. Ich, another writer
explains, is a German termination which has been replaced in French by
the Romance termination on.
§ 6. THE CHARACTER OP OBERON IX THE EARLY ROMANCE. XXxi
all intercourse between Ortnit and his pagan bride until after the
latter's baptism.1 The connection between him and Oberon is, as
Keightley has remarked, indubitable, and the German story, of
which he is one of the chief heroes, is almost identical with parte
of Huon. But there is little need to accept the opinion of some
continental critics, and regard either of the tales as borrowed from
the other. As M. Gaston Paris has suggested, Alberich or Auberon,
perhaps originally a hero of Rhenish folk-lore, doubtless formed part
of the Frankish, as of all German, mythology, and his traits have
been preserved in the romances of both France and Germany.
§ 6. But though of Teutonic origin, Oberon in the romance before
us has submitted in no slight degree to other influences, and has
absorbed characteristics from very different sources. His poetic creator
would seem indeed to have made of him a point de rencontre for those
three great currents of the narrative poetry of early mediaeval France
of which wo have already spoken. He represents the ideas that
were identified not only with Frankish history, but also with that of
Bretagne et Rome la grand. Mainly Frankish in tone, Oberon has
assimilated some of the spirit not only of Breton romance, but of
classical and scriptural antiquity, as it was known in the Middle
Ages. Any one of the curious pedigrees that appear in the various
versions of the romance illustrates the mingled elements of which
he is compounded. In the 13th century chanson he thus describes
his birth, —
" Jules Cesar me nori bien sou6 ;
Morge li fee, qui tant ot de biaute,
Che fu ma mere, si me puist Dix salver.
De ces II fui concus et engerrea." — Vv. 8492-6.
He is, in fact, a son of Julius C«sar and Morgan le Fay. The former
in mediaeval legend, it should be borne in mind, is little connected
with the Caesar of history. With Alexander the Great, to whom he
is often lineally allied, he shares in the romances the honour of
typifying papal and imperial Rome, i. e. Christianity and the Western
Empire, and his introduction into Oberon's genealogy is the mode
adopted by the poet to explain, as Teutonic mythology fails to do,
the Christian zeal and crusading fervour, combined with the humane
1 Infr^ pp. 153-4 ; Ilium de Bordeaux, 6688, et seq.
Digitized by
xxxii
THE ROMANCE OP HUON OP BORDEAUX.
tenderness and sober temperament, by which the dwarf is charac-
terized in the romance. Even in Orlnit, Alberich, who in so many
ways is a counterfeit presentment of Huon's fairy king, like most
dwellers in the enchanted world of Germany, resembles " Puck or
Robin Goodfellow," and bears no trace of Oberon's " note of hi^h
seriousness.0 His mother, who can be none other than the third
sister of King Arthur, "a great clerk in nigromancy," is similarly
given a place in the pedigree, that her presence may account for the
Celtic or Breton features implanted in the Oberon of the story of
Huon. The fear, with which he is at first regarded by the knight
and his faithful companion, Gerames, recalls the reputation which
the dwarfs usually bear in Breton tradition.1 The notion that
Huon, like Falstaff,2 had of fairies, — " he that speaks to them shall
die," — is not common in purely Teutonic stories. At the same time
his delicate beauty — his "aungelyke vysage" — connects him with
another aspect of Celtic mythology, while his magic cup, which is
always full in the hands of the virtuous man,8 but is empty in those
of the sinful, has many parallels in the Arthurian and Gaelic
romances, but none in those of ancient Germany, or in the early
Charlemagne cycle. Furthermore, his Asiatic home and the luxuiious
splendour of his enchanted palaces and attire recall the stories of the
Caliphs. We may therefore finally conclude that Oberon, as he was
known in early French literature, was a figure derived from Frankish
folk-lore, but, that he has not only been enveloped by the author
of Huon de Bordeaux in traditions of Christian Rome and Brittany,
but has also been tinged with an Eastern colouring. Such, it may
be suggested, is a legitimate analysis of his complicated character.
§ 7. The intricacies and incongruities that had, as we have seen,
been foisted on an early and simple legend of Huon, even in the
13th-century chanson de geste, — the first connected form in which the
story is extant, — did not prevent it experiencing further complications
1 Ce caractere traitre et sournois des nains est 1e plus ordinaire dans lea
traditions bretonnes ; ils ne parlent guere que lorsqu'ils trouvent l'occasion de
nuire a quelqu'un, comme ici (t. e. in Trlttran et Y*rnlt, where King March's
dwarf denounces them), etc. De la Villemarque\ — Leg llomans de la Table
Ronde, p. 421.
* Merry Wive* of Windsor, V. v. 48 : cf. Infra, p. 63. " if ye speke to
hyra, ye are lost for euer."
3 Infra, p. 76.
§ 8. THE CONTINUATIONS OF THE TURIN MANUSCRIPT. XXxiii
at the hands of succeeding jongleurs bdtards. Oberon was a character
capable of inspiring too lengthy a series of strange adventures to
allow a speedy arrest of the development of the romance, and the
10,000 lines of the old poem were lengthened almost immediately
to 14,000, and ultimately to 30,000 verses.1 While the story
of Huon's quarrel and strife with the Emperor is preserved in
all the extant versions in its main outlines, the remaniements
of the later part of the 13th and 14th centuries either endeavour
to supply their readers with more elaborate information as to Oberon's
career before he makes the acquaintance of Huon, or extend the
history of the knight himself until he is firmly seated on the
throne of fairy land. And a series of stories about his sons and
daughters and grand-daughters, in many of which he is made to
play the part of a Deus ex machind, is finally added. Such ampli-
fications, it need hardly be said, are purely fabulous; they are
crowded with incidents hopelessly irrational, and often brutally
unnatural ; and a perusal of them must lead every reader to worship
with a whole heart at the shrine of Cervantes, who ultimately suc-
ceeded in directing into other channels the perverse ingenuity of the
authors of like fictions.
§ 8. No less than seven continuations of Huon are extant;
four of them have been introduced into the prose version, and form,
as in his original, the concluding chapters of Lord Bernere' transla-
tion. The greater number of these extensions may be found in a
unique 14th-century manuscript now at Turin.2 The document opens
with a lengthy metrical prologue entitled Le Roman d'Auberon,
which is one of the most remarkable examples of the confused
historical notions of mediaeval writers with which I remember to
have met. It is based for the greater part on detached verses of the
1 The French MSS. of the metrical romance may be arranged thus : —
(1) Tours MS. (10,000 vv.). 13th cent.
(2) Paris MS. I. (14,000 vv.). 13th cent.
(3) Turin MS. (30,000 w.). 14th cent
(4) Paris MS. LI. (Alexandrine remaniement). 15th cent.
(5) Hamilton MS. 1341.
* The fullest description of the MS. and its contents may be found in
M. L. Gautier. Lei Epopiet Franca'uet, Hi. 742. Prof. Graf has printed the
introductory poem to which I refer as Part I. of a series entitled / oompli-
nenti della CJtanson d'ffvon de Bordeaux, Halle a/S. 1878.
CHARL. ROM. VI. c
xxxiv
THE ROMANCE OF HUON OP BORDEAUX.
13th-century chanson of Huon, combined with copious extracts from
the Arthurian romances, and much Oriental and Scriptural imagery.
Judas Maccabseus is the hero of its first pages. After fighting with the
Saracens, he marries a Saracen princess, and has by her a daughter,
Bruuehaut, who is destined by the fairies to pass her life in fairy
land. Nevertheless, she is wooed and won by Julius C®-ar; but
her married life proves unhappy, and her husband at length deserts
her, when on a visit to the court of King Arthur, for Morgan le
Fay. Of the last union Oberon is the offspring, and, after many
chivalric adventures at King Arthur's court, Caesar's son at a
dangerous crisis receives assistance from the dishonoured Brunehaut
on condition of befriending Huon, of whose existence he thus hears
for the first time. The old tale of the knight of Bordeaux then
follows, and it is succeeded by five chansons detailing the adventures
of Huon's descendants.
Of the first part of the extended romance (La Cfianson (TEsclara-
monde) Huon's wife Esclaramonde is the heroine. Kaoul the
Emperor of Germany, smitten with love for her, lays siege to Bor-
deaux, and Huon in order to gain assistance sets sail for the East.
His adventures there are more astonishing than before. Ia his
wanderings he meets with Judas Iscariot and Cain, and finds apples
of youth with which to rejuvenate all his friends. One of his ex-
periences is identical with an adventure of the third calendar in the
Thousand and One Nights, repeated in the so-called Travels of Sir
John MandeviJle, But Huon survives all his dangers ) with Oberon's
aid Bordeaux is saved, and the knight and his wife are conducted on
a winged horse to fairy land, on the throne of which the former is
at length seated. The wooing of Clarisse or Clariette, the eldest
daughter of Huon and Esclaramonde, is the subject of another
preposterous addition (La Chanson de Clarisse et Florent). Courted
by all the princes of Europe, from Hungary to Aragon, she is sub-
jected to every variety of persecution. But she finds a true champion
in Florent, the son of Peter of Aragon, with whom Huon, in his role
of king of fairy land, ultimately unites her.1 The adventures of Ide,
1 M. Gaston Paris sees in this story the influence of the well-known
romance of Aucassin et Nicolette Bee the notes on chaps. 158, et scq.
§ 9. OTHER DEVKLOPMENT8 OF THR STORY IN FRANCE AND HOLLAND. XXXV
the daughter of Clariette and Florent (La Chanson dtlde et d' Olive),
immediately follow in the Turin manuscript, and here the imagination
of the author assumes very repulsive features. Ide, to escape from
the incestuous advances of her own father, travels in man's clothing
to the court of the German Emperor, and is forcibly married to his
daughter, who has been unhappy enough to fall in love with the
stranger. But a strange divine interposition at length extricates the
actors from their curious embarrassment. The lengthy series of stories
concludes with an account of the misfortunes of Godin, a son of
Huon (La Chanson de Godin) , whose enemies are only routed by
his father's enchantments.
§ 9. Another version of Huon's adventures after his reconciliation
with the French Emperor is found in a unique manuscript in the
National Library at Paris, which is usually referred to the 15th
century. Three years pass, and the knight leaves Bordeaux for
Oberon's dominions. After passing through Rome and visiting the
Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, he is welcomed to Fairyland, and amid
gorgeous ceremonies crowned its king. Dangers, however, beset him
even here. He has to fight a lengthy war with a tribe of giants,
but after overcoming them, his wife, and a daughter Judic, of whom
the writer says, " plus belle rien ne vit nulz hons vivant," come to
share his kingdom. The manuscript breaks off when Huon is just
entering on a new war. Another manuscript of the same date as
the former contains the romance wholly rewritten and amplified in
Alexandrine verse. It is of interest mainly for the familiar references
it makes to another amplification of the story, le livre de Croissant,
a great-grandson of Huon, which is only extant in the prose versions.
Of other forms of the story we know very little. A beautiful
manuscript in the Hamilton collection — le Roman du Loyal Comte
Huon, bearing the date of 1341 — may or may not be a copy of one of
the manuscripts which have been described as unique. So far as we
know, it has never been examined by the French critics of mediaeval
literature, and I have been unable to obtain a glimpse of it.1 There
1 My only knowledge of this MS. is derived from an account of the
Hamilton MSS. recently sold to the German Government, and now I believe
in Berlin, that appeared in the Atheruew*, November 11th, 1882. The
description is as follows : — Huon, de Bordeaux : Le Roman du Loyal Comte
xxxvi
THE ROMANCE OF HUON OP BORDEAUX.
exists, however, in the Dutch language two versions of the story,
which are of interest as proofs of its ubiquitousness, if of little else.
One in verse, dated about 1400, tells the tale of Huon's return from
the East with a few slight variations from the tale as told in the
13th century chanson de geste. The other is in prose of the first half
of the 16th century.1 It is very short, and the fact that the place of
Gerames, Huon's companion in the French romance, is taken there by
Aleaume (Alelmui), an uncle of the knight, who figures in the Chronicle
of Albericus Trium Fontium, leads me to suppose that it is based on the
chanson in some slightly earlier form than any now extant in France.
§ 10. After so varied an existence as I have here sketched, the
romance of Huon was finally reduced to prose in 1454. It was im-
mediately based on the previous metrical versions, and probably the
manuscript, now in Turin, was most frequently in the hands of its
author. Only one difference of any importance is noticeable in the
course of the story of Huon and Oberon. The latter's genealogy is
slightly developed, and he is credited with other maternal relatives
than those mentioned in the metrical romances. According to the
prose story his mother was the lady of the island of Cephalonia, " who
was sum tyme wel belouyde of the fayre Florimont of Albaney." But
deserting Florimont, " who as then was yonge," she married another
by whom she was the mother of Neptanabus and the grandmother of
"Alexander ye grate." Her charms subsequently attracted "Sezar
as he crossed to Thesalee wher as he fought with Pompee," and thus
Julius Caesar was his father as in the previous versions. The
reference to Florimont shows that the prosateur was acquainted with
Aimes de Varenne's romance of that name, which, in the spirit of the
poetical amplifiers, he doubtless laid directly under contribution when
altering the pedigree of his fairy king.2 The prose reduction, which
Huon, in verse, a manuscript on vellum of the 14th century, being dated 1841.
It is ornamented with 76 curious paintings illustrating the romance.
1 Cp. Huyge von Bourdeup, ein Niederlandiscbes Volksbuch, herausgegeben
von Ferdinand Wolf. Stuttgart, 1860. An original prologue gives some
additional information as to Charles's history before the opening of the story.
His wife is Hildegaert ; she has three sons and three daughters.
2 Florimont is an early French romance, touching the ancestry of Alex-
ander of Macedon. It has itself undergone a development very similar to
that of Huon. In its earliest form it has been referred to the 12th century.
§ 11. LATER HISTORY OF THE ROMANCE IN FRANCE. XXXvii
has no other claim to originality, includes besides the legend of Huon
the stories " of those that issued fro him." Three of the suites of the
Turin manuscript, viz. : (1) the story of Esclaramonde, (2) that of
Clariette and Florent, and (3) that of Ide and Olive, have been
incorporated with it, and the last portion contains the romance of
Croissant, which, as we have noted, has not found a place among the
metrical remaniemejtts, and occurs here for the first time. The prose
version was undertaken, an introductory note tells us, at the express
desire of two great lords at the court of Charles VII. — Charles de
Rochefort and Hugues de Longueval, and of a third person, Pierre
Ruotte. No manuscript of it exists, though it doubtless was largely
read in that form by the noblemen at the court of Louis XL, by
whom compositions of the kind were held in high esteem. It was
printed for the first time at Paris in 1513 by Michel Lenoir.1
§ 11. Of the popularity of the romance in France there is no lack
of evidence, and to grasp its real position in continental literature,
I may briefly dwell on it here. Many references to Huon and his
adventures occur in the chansons de geste of a later date than the one
to which he gives his name. His relationship to Oberon made a deep
impression on subsequent poets. He is commonly known to them as
Huelin a la clere fachon
A qui fist tout de bien 1e bou roi Oberon,
and elaborate attempts are often made to connect him and his father,
Sevin de Bordele, in genealogical tables with other great families of the
Charlemagne cycle. The number of extant poetical remaniements is
itself a proof of the favour the tale met with in the middle ages, and
the wide dissemination of the prose version of the story in later times
is attested by the number of editions through which it passed. In the
16th century it was reprinted no less than six times, and not only at
Paris, but also at Rouen and Lyons. In the 17 th century seven new
editions were published, and others followed in rapid succession in
1 The colophon of the earliest British Museum copy, which is the only
French prose version I have consulted, bears date le xxci iour de nouembre
mil. v. cent et treize. Brunet (Manuel du Libraire s. v.) gives the date of
the oldest copy known in France as le xxiiij iour de decembre mil cinq cens et
seize. The printer is also Michel Lenoir. The Brit. Mus. copy (12341. i. 12)
is therefore probably the earliest edition known. No French editor has noted
an earlier edition than that of 1516.
Digitized by
xxxviii
THE ROMANCE OP HUON OP BORDEAUX.
subsequent years.1 A curious fortune awaited the book in the reign
of Henry II. The romance was dramatized, and a religious guild at
Paris, whose members were known as " les confreres de la passion et
resurrection de nostre sauveur et redempteur Jhesus Christ," under-
took its performance during the Christmas festivities of the year 1557.
Upon very few of the Charlemagne epics, as wo have had occasion to
remark already, has the honour of a dramatic version been conferred,
and the fact that Huon of Bordeaux was selected for the distinction is
an emphatic proof of the high place it held in popular esteem. But
objections were taken to the proposed representation. The Provost
refused to allow the preparations to proceed, and the actors had to
appeal to the Parlement of Paris, to enable them to carry out their
original intention. Their petition, which greatly agitated the French
capital, was granted with the limitation that lejeu de Huon was not
to be performed within the hours " durant lesquelles se celebre le divin
service par les eglises et parroises de ceste ville, et ce le lendemain de
la feste de la Nativity Nostre seigneur et sans seandale." The opposi-
tion to the performance was probably due in great part to the strictly
religious character that the theatre in France bore at the time. Other
indications of the general attention bestowed upon the romance are to
be found in the French historical literature of the 17th century, where
it is treated as a work of high historical authority, and Huon himself
is seriously described as one of the heroes " of the antique woild," to
whose valour the development of southern France was mainly due.2
In Germany it will be remembered that Wieland has based on the
French prose romance of Huon, published in 1778 in an abridged
form, his long poem of Oberon. Whatever opinion we may hold of its
literary value, to it is due a wide extension of Huon's and Oberon's
popularity on the continent.8
§ 12. The first edition of Lord Berners' English translation of the
1 Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, a. v.
3 M. Guessard's Jfnon, pp. xxvij — xxxiiij
3 M. Girardin (Court de litterature dramatiq*ie. Hi. p. 235) has elabor-
ately compared Wieland's poem with the old romance, and with justice com-
plains of the incongruous idyllic sentiment introduced into the story of Huon's
relations with Esclaramonde, whom Wieland has rechristened Rfzia, and of the
complicated passions that the German poet foists upon his characters. Wie-
land's Oberon was published in 1780.
§ 12. THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION".
xxxix
romance is wholly based on the French prose version.1 Chapter by
chapter it follows the printed copy of 1513, which may fairly be
regarded as its original, and the translator has performed his task with
the utmost fidelity. The book is of the highest rarity. For many
years collectors imagined it to be irrecoverably lost,2 but a copy, the
only one of which we have any information at present, was sold at
the sale of Dr. Bliss's library, and at the Corsser sale in 1869, when
it was purchased by the late Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, and it is
now the property of his son.8 Two copies of a third edition of the
1 Tabulating the results which have been arrived at as to the various
portions of the prose story, Lord Berners7 translation may be arranged thus : —
LORD BEBNEBfl' TRANSLATION. WHENCE DERIVED (THROUGH THE
FRENCH PROSE ORIOINAL).
L Chapters 1-85 (included in part I). I. The xiiith century Chanson de
Oeste of Huon as it appears in
the Turin M8.
a. Chaps. 1-20. a. Vv. 1-2000 = an old Carlo-
vingian legend.
£. Chaps. 21-85. /3. Vv. 2000-10041 = later story
of Oberon. * .
g flL Chaps. 86-157. II. La Chanson d1 Esclaramonde in
g the Turin MS.
IIL Chaps. 158-173 III. La Chanson de Clarisse et
$ \ Florent in the Turin MS.
IT. Chaps. 174-180. IV. La Chanson d'Ide et Olive in
the Turin MS.
kV. Chaps. 181 -end. V. La Roman de Croissant, referred
to in the Paris MS. (II.) of the
Alexandrian rifacimento, but not
known elsewhere.
Of the extant amplifications Le Roman d'Auberon, the story of Huon in
Fairyland (in the Paris MS. I.) and the tale of Godin (in Turin MS.) are
excluded from the prose versions.
* Cf. Ritson's and Douce's MS. notes reprinted from a copy of the 3rd
edition, infra, p. Ivi.
s Through whose hands the copy has passed in previous centuries we do
not know. Early in the 16th century it was probably in the hands of some
love-sick youth who, in the writing of that date, has placed on the margin of
Lord Crawford's copy (fols. cviii, back, and cix) the following lines: —
My faythfull hart dothe loue right well
Her that I can not atayne :
Wherfore ther is no towng can tell
The grefes that I su8tft)'ne.
If I showlld spend a Burners day
To wrytte in verse or prose,
I cowlld my dolent mynd display,
Nor yet hallf my loue disclose.
In the seventh line not has been erased, and my superscribed, but both are
a
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Xl THE ROMANCE OF HUON OP BORDEAUX.
English romance are also extant, — one at the British Museum, and
the other at the Bodleian Library, — and it is stated on their title-
pages that the rude English of the earlier editions has been here
corrected and amended. Of the intervening edition no trace has yet
been found.
§ 13. The life of Lord Berners, the English translator of the story,
whose name has been " canonized in Fame's eternal calendar " as the
translator of Froissart, forms an interesting but little-known chapter
of our political and literary history, and a brief summary of such
facts as I have been able to collect together will tend to give the
romance before us an additional interest. Born probably at Tharfield
in Hertfordshire about 1469, Anthony k Wood1 is of opinion that,
like Tiptoft, the Earl of Worcester, whom in point of literary culture
he closely resembles, Berners was educated at Balliol College, Oxford.
As early as 1474 he succeeded to the title of his grandfather, John
Bourchier, who had been created Baron Berners2 in 1455 and was
a descendant of Edward III. through his mother, and a younger
brother of Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury (1454-1486).
On the marriage of one of the royal princes in 1477 he was knighted,
and in 1484 at the early age of fifteen Lord Berners would seem to
have entered into very active political life. He apparently joined in
a premature attempt to raise Henry, duke of Richmond, to the throne,
and on its failure he had to flee to Brittany.8 After the accession
of Henry VI L, who had received much assistance from his friends,
Berners came prominently forward in English politics. In 1492 he
entered into a contract " to serue the king in his warres beyond see on
hole yeere with two speres." 4 Five years later he gave signal aid in
needful for the sense. The copy sold for £19 at Dr. Bliss's sale, and £85 at
the Corsser sale.
1 Anthony a Wood, Athena Oxonienses, i. 72; see also Fuller's Hertford*
shire Worthiest p. 32. By far the best memoir of Lord Berners is that prefaced
to Mr. Utterson's edition of his translation of Froissart, but it is very
imperfect. (Lond. 1812), i. pp. 4-23.
* Dugdale's Baronage, ii. 129. Lord Berners' father is described as
Humphry Bourchier, aud was slain at the battle of Barnet, and buried at
Westminster Abbey. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Frederick
Tilney and widow of Sir Thomas Howard, knight. The first Lord Berners was
the youngest son of the Earl of Ewe, whose heir was created Earl of Essex by
Edward IIL » Hardyng's Chronicle (ed. Ellis, 1832), p. 529.
4 Bymer, Foedera, zii. 479.
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§ 13. THE POLITICAL GABBER OF LORD BERNERS.
Xli
crushing a rebellion of Cornishmen against Henry VII.' 8 tax-gatherers
under Michael Joseph, the blacksmith, and from that date he was
received with high favour at court, as " a martial man, well seen in all
military discipline."1 Henry VIII. we know from many circum-
stances to have been intimately acquainted with him. In 1513 he
travelled in the king's retinue to Calais,2 and was present with the
English army at the capture of Terouenne, where he performed services
of no little valour. The war in Scotland was also probably conducted
under his superintendence, and he was marshal in the Earl of Surrey's
army about the time when Flodden Field was fought.8 On the
occasion of the marriage of Princess Mary to Louis XII.,4 Lord Berners
was appointed Chamberlain to the English Queen of France,5 but
he had no intention of remaining permanently abroad. He had
already been granted by the king (18th May, 1514) the reversion to
the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer,6 and in 1516 (28th May) he
was apparently inducted into the honourable post.7 Arrayed in his
official robes he at a later date sat for his portrait to Hans Holbein,
the painter to Henry VIIL's court8 In 1518 Berners was sent with
the Archbishop of Armagh, a notable diplomatist of the day, on a
special mission to Spain to form a lasting alliance between Henry
VIII. and Charles of Spain, and the letters of the envoys represent
Lord Berners suffering from a severe sickness.9 He is, however, at
times well enough to send home to Henry VIII. accounts of the
bull-baiting and other sports that took place in the Spanish capital.
Negotiations dragged on from April to December, and money was
not sent from England with such regularity as to enable the am-
• Fuller, p. 27. Walpole's Royal and Noble Authors, i. 239
1 Brewer's Letters and Papers of Henry VIII., i. nos. 4307, 4314, &c
» Ibid. i. 4375. « Oct. 9, 1514. 6 Ibid. i. 5483.
• No. 6097. 7 Ibid. ii. do. 1946.
• Wornum's edition of Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, i. 82. In one hand
he holds a lemon, which is thought to have been regarded as a safeguard
against plague infections, and perhaps alludes to Lord Berners* escape from the
disease, while attending to the duties of his office. The picture is now in the
possession of the Hon. H. Tyrwhitt Wilson, a lineal descendant of Lord Berners,
and is at Keythorpe Hall, Leicestershire.
• Brewer's Letters, ii. 4383, 4436, &c. At times Berners is described as
sick in bed, and the Archbishop has to perform the business of the embassy
alone. In one letter gout is mentioned as the cause of his sickness.
THE ROMANCE OF HUON OF BORDEAUX.
ba8sadors to live with comfort or dignity.1 "God send hit (i. e. the
embassy) an ende," Berners writes to Wolsey (26th July, 1518), " for
we lye here with most charge and expence, horse & man, & in most
scarcitie of all things as well meate as drink that may be thought"
Early in 1519 Berners was again in England, and among the
noblemen who were ordered to attend the king at The Field of the
Cloth of Gold his name occurs. His reputation stood at the time
very high, and the Privy Council gave him a vote of thanks (July
2nd, 1520) for an account of the interview between the English and
French kings that he had sent them from France. But Lord Berners'
busy career was approaching an end. His activity can hardly be
exaggerated. While holding high state offices, he had frequently
attended Parliament, and had regularly performed the duties of
Justice of the Peace for Hertfordshire and Surrey.8 He had,
moreover, entered upon several harassing law-suits, touching the
ownership of several manors in Staffordshire, Wiltshire, and else-
where,8 and he was experiencing much pecuniary embarrassment.
He had borrowed as early as 1511 £350 from the king,4 and the
loans were frequently repeated. He had no means wherewith to pay
his debts : his health was failing, and he apparently desired leisure.
A vacancy in the governorship of Calais seemed to present a means
of relieving him of his difficulties, and in December 1520 he was
appointed deputy of Calais during pleasure with £100 yearly for
himself and £104 as ' Spyall money.' 5 And the remaining years of
his life were spent in such retirement as his new position afforded.
§ 14. It was at Calais that he undertook almost all his literary
work. He had probably been, like several of his younger contem-
poraries, a considerable reader from his youth, and may possibly have
been one of those persons " of noble estate and degree," whom Caxton
frequently describes as ever ready to assist him in his enterprises.
Berners doubtless became well acquainted early in life with the French
and Spanish languages, and thus he was enabled to make direct
1 Brewer's Letter*, ii. no. 4342, 4228, &c. The payments to the embassy
were 5 marks a day.— it p. 1477.
* In all the Commissions of the Peace issued for these counties during the
early years of Henry VIII. 's reign his name appears: r. Brewer's Letter* ptiMipt.
» Ibid. iii. nos. 1286-8. * Ibid. i. no. 2044. * Ibid. hi. no. 1074.
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§ 14. HIS LITERARY CHARACTER,
xliii
acquaintance with the chivalric romances that formed the popular
literature of both Spain and France. After his energetic work in
previous years, time at Calais probably hung heavily on his hands,
and he tells us that it was " somewhat in eschewing " of idleness
which "is reputed to be the moder of al vices" that he began
his labours as a translator. History, whether of fact or fiction,
was, according to his own confession, his literary passion. " When
I aduertysed, & remembred the many-folde commodyties of hystorie,"
he writes in the prologue to Froissart's Chronicle, "howe bene-
fyciall it is to mortall folke, & eke howe laudable, & merytoryous a
dede it is to write hy stories, [I] fixed my mind to do some thynge
therin, & euer, when this ymaginayon came to me, I volued, tourned
& redde many volumes, & bokes conteyning famouse histories." And
it was thus that he was led to undertake the translation of a book
like Froissart's Chronicles. But he was troubled by little critical
sensitiveness as to the truth or falsehood of historical records, and
he interpreted history in the freest possible sense. The impossible
adventures in some of the books that he " did into our maternal
tongue," he admitted " to our humayne reason, sholde seme to be
incredible." "But then," he proceeds, "I called agayne to my
remembrauuce, that I had redde, and seene many a sondrye volume of
dyuerse noble hystoryes, wherein were contayned the redoubted dedes
of the auncyent inuynsyble conquerours, & of ether ryght famous
knighte*, who acheued many a straunge & wonderfull aduenture,
the whyche, by playne letter to our vnderstandynge, sholde seme in a
maner to be supernaturall ; wherefore I thought that this present
treatise myght as well be reputed for trouthe as some of those." But
credulity was by no means the most striking feature of Lord Bern era'
literary character. There is a humility and simple piety in all his
original writing that claims the loving respect of his readers. He
did not presume, he says of one of his books, " to have reduced it in
to fresshe ornate polysshed Englysshe, for T know myselfe insuffycyent
in the facondyous arte of rethoryke." He never regarded himself as
other than " a lerner of the language of Frensshe," although he had
spent years in studying it. His prefaces invariably concluded with
a hope that the reader would kindly view his shortcomings, and
xliv
THE ROMANCE OF HUON OF BORDEAUX.
often with the words : — " In theyr so doynge, I shall praye to God
that, after this vayne & transytory lyfe, he may brynge them vnto
the perdurable joye of heuen. Amen." 1
§ 15. It was Henry VIII., who had already so often befriended
Lord Berners, that first encouraged, if he did not suggest, the
great undertaking of his literary career — the translation of Froissart's
Chronicle; and he writes himself that he was moved to the task
"at the highe commaundement of my most redouted souerayne
& lorde kynge Henry the viii." The first volume of the work
was published in London in 1523, and the second and last in
1525. And I regard this translation as Lord Berners' first published
book. In the introduction he speaks with more than his usual
modesty as an untried author, and in the tentative tone of a literary
beginner details the principles of translation he has thought proper
to adopt He begs all the "readers & herers therof to take this
my rude translacion in gre." "And in that," he continues, "I
haue not folowed myne authour worde by worde, yet I trust I haue
ensewed the true reporte of the sentence of the mater : & as for the
true namyng of all maner of persanages, contreis, cyties, townes,
ryuers, & felds, whereas I coude not name them properly nor aptely
in Englysshe, I haue written them accordynge as I founde them in
frenche." * Of the success of the book it is unnecessary to dwell
here. The noble gentlemen of England, for whom the translator
stated it to have been written, gave it a warm welcome, and to its
popularity has been ascribed the taste for historical reading and
composition by which later literary compositions of the century were
characterized.3 The style is vivid and clear, and although a few
French words have been introduced, Lord Berners has adhered, as a
rule, so closely to English idiom that the work might almost be
mistaken for an original English production. It was the longest, as
1 See besides the Introduction to Froissart, that to Sir Arthur of Lytle
Brytayne in Uttereon's reprint (1812), and to Cattel of Love in Walpole's
Noble Awthort,i. 243-4.
* These quotations are taken from the earliest edition of the translation
(1523).
3 Marsh, Hut of Englith Language, 1862, pp. 495-501, where a suggestive
criticism of Berners1 translation will be found.
§ 6. OTHER WORKS. § 17. LORD BERNERS' DEATH. xlv
it was the highest in point of literary merit, of any of "the few prose
histories that had appeared in our language. Hall, Fabian, and
Holinshed were subsequently all more or less indebted to it, and
repeated editions, published in Elizabeth's reign, testified to its
continuous popularity.
§ 16. The other works that Lord Berners undertook at Calais
were of a very varied kind. The Charlemagne romance of Hum of
Bordeaux, I think it probable, followed Froissart's Chronicle at no
long interval, although its publication was probably much delayed.
About the same time he undertook the translation from the French
of The Hy story of Sir Arthur of Lytle Brytayne (*. e. Brittany), and
of a Spanish romance known as The Castel of Love.1 Later he
rendered into English from a French version TJie Golden Boke of
Marcus Aurelius, and although no other works from his pen are
extant, he is credited by some writers with a 'comedy' entitled
lte in Vineam, which, Anthony k Wood tells us, was frequently
acted at Calais after vespers, and a tract on The duties of the
inliabitants of Calais.2 Warton, on the authority of Oldys, also
ascribes to him a translation of Petrarch.8
§ 1 7. But while engaged in literary pursuits he did not neglect the
duties of his office. In 1522 he had received the Emperor Charles
V. before crossing the Channel on a visit to England, and the State
Papers contain numerous letters from him to Wolsey and other great
officers of State, as to the provisioning of the fortifications of Calais ;
as to the distinguished strangers who arrived there; as to the
movements of the armies of France or the Low Countries in the near
neighbourhood, and like details.4 But the close of his life does
not appear to have been a happy one. "Weak in health and
embarrassed by debt, had it not been for the encouragement he
received from noble lords and ladies, at the special request of one or
more of whom each of his books was undertaken, he would not, it
seems, have persisted in his laborious work of translation.5 He
1 Walpole's Royal and Noble Authors, i. 242.
1 Ath. Oxon. i. 33. 8 Warton, Hist of English Poetry, iii. p. 64.
4 Henry VII V t Letters, vols. iv. v. vi., passim.
6 The introduction to Hiton of Bordeaux in the Oxf. copy of the 1601
edition ; see infra, p. li.
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xlvi
THE ROMANCE OP HUON OP BORDEAUX.
is bitterly harassed, as his letters show, by his continual lawsuits,
which begin to touch his Hertfordshire property, and by the loans that
the king had from time to time made him, and which still remained
unpaid. In the last years of his life he tried to conciliate his
Sovereign, who probably demanded payment in no gentle tone,
by frequent presents of hawks;1 but Henry apparently looked
anxiously for the death of his old friend in order to distrain on
his property for the debts still owing to him. During his last
illness special agents of the king were despatched with indecent
haste to watch over Berners* personal possessions in behalf of his
creditors. At length on March 16, 1533, the end came.2 Six days
before, Lord Berners had completed his rendering into English of the
Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius, and doubtless knew then that his
end was near.8 On his death Henry showed little respect for his
memory. He at once ordered all his goods in his house or the
town to be arrested until further notice, and his post to be filled
immediately. His affairs were found, owing to his illness, to be much
disordered, but the inventory taken of his property, and, now at the
Record Office, proves that he lived in no little splendour, and it
contains an interesting entry stating that eighty books and four
pictures formed part of his furniture. Unfortunately all details of
these posses ions are irrecoverably lost.4 It was thus experiencing
his full share of the petty vexations of life that Lord Berners passed
away. To most readers he survives nowadays as a shadowy name ;
but such details as I have set down show that hi* exploits in the
various spheres of war, politics, and literature give him a strong claim
to a place among the worthies of 16th century England.
§ 18. Of the popularity of all Lord Berners' works, and of Hmn in
1 Cp. Privy Purse Expenses for 1529-31, pp. 54 and 231, where gratuities
to Lord Berners* servant* for bringing the hawks are recorded.
1 Henry VIII* s Paper*, vi. nos. 238 and 239. A letter begins bearing date
March 16, 1533, " My lord deputy is dead."
9 The first edition of 1534 has in the colophon the words: " Ended at
Caleis the tenth Daie of Marche, in the yere of the Reigne of our Soveraygne
Lorde Kyng Henry the VIII. xxiiii." (i. e. 1533).
4 I carefully examined the inventory in the hope of finding some account
of Lord Berners' books. All that occurs there on the subject is : — "Item in the
stody f,y books vz oon of Latten & frenche," and below, " iiij pictours." —
Cp. Brewer's Letters (in Mr. Gairdner's continuation), vi. p. 611.
§18. ROMANCES IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND.
xlvii
particular, there is no lack of evidence. Romances from the reign of
Henry VIII. to that of Charles I. formed the most popular literature
in England. Their numbers were prodigious. A brief examination
of the Stationers' Registers shows with what energy the printers set
before their public translations of French, Oriental, Italian, and
Spanish story-books. At the opening of the century Caxton and
Lord Berners have themselves described how anxiously the noble
classes, who formed the only contemporary reading public, awaited
the publication of their translations. Nor, when the stage was at
the height of its prosperity, did the romances cease to be the favourite
recreation of the reading classes, which grew in number as the
century advanced. The plays, it must be remembered, were not
designed for private perusal Their appearance in print was due
to fraud and piracy, and was a constant source of complaint with
authors, managers, and actors. Only a few play-books found their
ways into the hands of readers, and recourse continued to be
made to works like those before us. A writer in 1586 tells us
with what unalloyed delight a country gentleman would listen to
"pleasant mad-headed knaves, that bee properly learned & will
reade in diuerae pleasaunt bookes & good Authors: as Sir Guy
of Warwicke, the foure sonnes of Ammon," and works of like
description.1 Edmund Spenser in his famous letter to Sir "Walter
Raleigh writes that it was because he desired to be " most plausible
and pleasing " that he coloured his allegory " with an historical fiction,
the which the most part of men delight to read." George Chapman *
in 1611 describes a typical Statesman as one who was well acquainted
with the Gesta Romanorum and similar volumes. Some writers are
inclined to bestow extravagant eulogy on the romances of Chivalry.
Thus John Taylor, the water-poet, writes, with perhaps a touch of
sarcasm, when speaking of their heroes : " In all ages and countries it
hath euer bin knowne that famous men haue florished, whose worthy
Actions & Eminency of place haue euer bene as conspicuous Beacons
Burning & blazeng to the Spectators' view. The sparkes & flames
1 English Courtier and the Cuntrey Gentleman, 1586, quoted in Mr.
FurnivaU's edition of Captain Corn's Ballads. — Ballad Society, p. six.
* Chapman's May Day, iii. 1.
xlviii
THE ROMANCE OP HUON OP BORDEAUX.
whereof hane sometimes kindled courage in the most coldest &
effeminate cowards." But such literature had at the same time its
detractors, as much of it well deserved. Roger Ascham in his
Scholemaster (1571), like the niece of Don Quixote, regarded all the
romances as mischief-makers, and complained that even Sir Thomas
Malory's Morte d? Arthur was full of 1 slaughter' and 'bawdrie.' 1
Similarly, Francis Meres, in his Palladia Tamia of 1598, censured
romantic histories as being "no lesse hurtfull to youth then the
works of Machiavell to age." 2 Robert Burton bitterly complains of
the gentry : " if they read on a book at any time it is an English
Chronicle w (like Amwlis de Gaule, &c), " a playe booke or some
pamphlet of news," 8 and elsewhere he says of " such Inamoratoes as
read nothing but play-bookes, idle poems," and so forth, that many
"proue in the ende as mad as Don Quixot"* But nevertheless
romances continued to be generally read till the time of the Rebellion,
especially by the half-educated classes.6 Beaumont and Fletcher in
their humorous farce of the Knight of the Burning Pestle show how
chivalric tales fatally disturbed the equanimity of the lower middle
classes at a little earlier date.6
§ 19. Of such popularity and such censure Lord Berners' trans-
lation enjoyed a full share. His hero for a hundred years was given a
place among the worthies of antiquity. He is set beside Godfrey of
Boulogne, King Arthur and his knights in a poem, written shortly
after the death of Henry VIII.,7 the form of which is almost
identical with Villon's Ballade des dames mortes, familiar to most
English readers in Rossetti's exquisite translation. In 1558 the book
is mentioned in an inventory of the property of Richard Brereton,
1 Ascham, Scholematter, p. 80. (Arber's Edition). Cp. his Toxophilm.
Pref.
* Mere's PaUadU Tamia, 1598, p. 2668.
8 Anatomic of Melancholic, ed. 1621, p. 183. « Ibid, p. 353.
6 Cp. London Chavnticlccre*. 1659, where much popular literature of
the kind is referred to. — Hazlitt's Dodtley, vol. xii.
• The play was first performed 1613. A grocer's apprentice is there
driven from his shop by a desire of pursuing feats of arms, and cuts a very
ridiculous figure. It reached its height of popularity about 1635.
7 Percy's Folio MS. Ballads and Romance t (ed. by Hales and Furnivall),
1868, iii. p. 171. On the Fall of Princes :— " Where is Huon of Bordeaux,
where is he ? "
§ 20. OBKRON IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. xlix
and valued at the high sum (for those days) of xviijd,1 and in 1572
the work is referred to among others, in a brief pamphlet, as fit for
gentlemen's reading.2 Three years later Master Laueham in his letter,
descriptive of the Kenil worth festivities of 1575, tells us how Cox,
the quixotic old Captain of Coventry, who took a leading part in
the pageants, had Huon of Bordeaux among other famous romances
" at his fingers' ends." 3 Gervase Markham, a voluminous prose
writer on practical subjects in Elizabeth's day, in A / Health to the /
Gentlemanly profession of Seruing men (1578), has quoted largely
from Lord Berners, translation, when ingeniously illustrating the
evil influence of Mammon.4 Spenser was evidently well acquainted
with the book, and describes how Sir Guyon, his knight of
Temperance,
" knighthood tooke of good Sir Huon's hand,
When with King Oberon he came to Faery land."5
Similarly Huon of Bordeaux is panegyrized by John Taylor, the
water-poet, in the passage I have quoted above, and bitterly censured
by Francis Meres and Robert Burton. But there exists another
curious indication of the high place the romance continued to hold
in popular esteem at the end of the century. An entry in Philip
Henslowe's Diary proves that it was dramatized and produced in that
form by the players of the Earl of Sussex in 1593-4. The note runs
as follows : —
Rd at hewen of burdoche, the 28 of desembr 1593 iiju. x\
Rd at hewen of burdokes, the 3 of Jenewary 1593(-4) xiiijB.
Rd at hewen, the 11 of Jenewary 1593(-4).6 v\
The play, although no trace of it is now extant, was thus at least
three times performed.
§ 20. A review of the position that Huon of Bordeaux holds in our
literary history would be manifestly incomplete without some reference
1 HaUiwelPs Folio cf Shakespeare, vol. v. p. 85.
* A Brief and Necessary Instruction, kc, by E. D. 1672. Quoted from
Collier by Mr. Furaivall in his introduction to Cox's Ballads.
* Nicholl's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth. London, 1823, i. 449. Lane-
ham's letter is here reprinted.
4 FoL G, 4. Only two copies of this rare pamphlet are, I believe, known.
Both are in the Douce collection of the Bodleian Library. See below, chaps,
cviii.-cx. (the story of the Adamant), whence the passage is taken.
6 Faerie Queene, bk. LLC. • Ilenslowe's Diary (ed. Collier), pp. 31-2.
CHAM* ROM. VI. d
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THE ROMANCE OF HUON OF BORDEAUX.
to the Oberon of Elizabethan literature. That the fairy king first
became known to this country through the agency of Lord Berners'
version of his story, there cannot be a shadow of a doubt. Chaucer,
it is true, gave to Pluto the title of " King of Faerie " in his Marehantes
Tale,1 but the little dwarf Oberon, with his unapproachable beauty
and gentle carriage, is the only rightful possessor of the throne of
fairy land in our literature. The question has before been raised as
to whether Shakespeare was acquainted with Lord Berners' Huon of
Bordeaux when he wrote Midsummer Night1 8 Dream. There is no
obvious identity of spirit between the protector of Huon and the
husband of Titania, and we can only give a tentative answer. Oberon
had appeared on the throne of fairy land before Shakespeare produced
his comedy. In the Faerie Queene he figures in the Antiquitie of
Faerie as the latest sovereign of the enchanted world.2 In 1591 the
fairy king had appeared in a dramatic entertainment, exhibited before
Queen Elizabeth when on a progress in Hampshire.3 Similarly,
he plays a part in Green's tragedy of James IV. (1594),4 but he
there retains so few of the characteristics of the French original, and
holds so incongruous and absurd a position, that we should be loth,
although many critics have supported the assumption, to believe that
Shakespeare was under obligation to so despicable a production. The
Oberon of the great poet's fairy-comedy, although he is set in a
butterfly environment, still possesses some features very similar to
those of the romantic fairy king. If he is not brought into relations
with so purely mundane institutions as the Papacy and the Empire,
he is concerned in the affairs of Athens. One point in Midsummer
Nighfs Dream, moreover, seems to make the relationship between
the two Oberons a matter of less doubt than has been generally
allowed. The mediaeval fairy dwells in the East : his kingdom is
situated somewhere to the east of Jerusalem, in the far-reaching
district that was known to mediaeval writers under the generic name
of India. Shakespeare's fairy is similarly a foreigner to the western
1 Canterbury Tales, line 10,101, kc.
1 F. Q., bk. II. x. 75. 3 Harwell's Fhlio of Shakespeare, i. 80.
4 The Scottish* story of James the Fovrthe slayn at Fjlttdden intermixed
with a pleasant Camedie presented by Oboron ktnge of ffayres. — Arber'a
Transcript, ii. 648.
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§ 20. OBEItON IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. li
world. He is totally unlike Puck, his lieutenant, " the merry wanderer
of the night," who spiings from purely English superstition, and it
is stated in the comedy that he has come to Greece " from the farthest
steep of India." Titania, further, tells her husband how the mother
of her page-boy gossiped at her side,1 in their home, " in the spiced
Indian air by night-falL" 2 And it will be remembered that an
Indian boy causes the jealousy of Oberon. Some portions of the
romance I, therefore, believe Shakespeare to have assimilated, and to
be still visible in his ethereal play. The inference is perhaps
supported by a direct reference to Huon of Bordeaux, as some
commentators have regarded it, in another of Shakespeare's comedies.
In Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick offers among the many
u embassages " he would undertake rather than hold three words with
Beatrice, to " fetch you the hair of the Great Cham's Beard," 3 and it
has been supposed that we have here an allusion to Huon's endeavour
to obtain the beard of the Admiral of Babylon.4 The origin of the
later Oberons of Drayton, Randolph, and Herrick calls for no com-
ment here. They are obviously based on Shakespeare's own fairy king.
When Lord Berners' translation ceased to be read, the achieve-
ments of Huon of Bordeaux lapsed into obscurity. But his story was
curiously revived at the beginning of this century. Wieland, the
German poet, as I have said already, based on Huon of Bordeaux
his poem of Oberon, and Mr. Sotheby's English translation of the
production gained great popularity in this country. Upon it, moreover,
was based the libretto of Weber's opera of Oberon, which was written
for and first performed in a London theatre (April 12, 1826). It is
thus that the name of the knight of Bordeaux, as the hero of the
opera, has found brief mention in one of Thackeray's novels.5
i Jf. N. D. II. ii. 65-6. * Ibid. II. ii. 10. 3 Much Ado, II. I 263.
4 Halliwell's Folio of Shaketpeare, iv. 77. Cartwright in his Siege, or
Love%$ Convert , 1651, p. 157, has imitated the passage and brought it iuto
closer harmony with Huon's mission.
" Fetch yon a hair of the Great Cham's beard ;
No more ? I'd thought you would have bid me pull
The Parthian king by th' beard, or draw an eye-tooth
From the jaw royall of the Persian monarch."
* Neircomet, i. 115. J. J. Ridley when listening to Miss Cann's feeble
piano-strumming imagines he sees before him " Sir Huon of Bordeaux sailing
up the quay with the Sultan's daughter of Babylon/'
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THE ROMANCE OF HUON OF BORDEAUX.
§ 21. The bibliography of Lord Beruers' translation demands some
fuller attention than we have already given it. The editio princeps is
a black-letter folio of 191 leaves, and is embellished by grotesque
initial-letters, and by numerous woodcuts which are more than once
repeated, and often indicate much delicacy of workmanship. It is
in many ways imperfect. The book almost certainly began, like
Caxton's romances, and the other extant works of Lord Berners, with
an address to the reader, followed by "a table with all the chapiters
as they stande in the boke in order," both of which the extant
volume is without. In its present condition it abruptly opens with
the statement that "here begynnethe the boke of duke Huon of
Burdeaux, and of them that issuyd fro him." The last page is
likewise missing, and half of the last but one has been torn away.
Thus we have lost the colophon with its record of the date of the
work. It is therefore a difficult matter to state precisely to what
year its publication should be assigned. We have some external
evidence to guide us, and the internal character of the book and its
typography may give some assistance. But it is a question which we
cannot decide with absolute certainty.
A few of the facts in Lord Berners' career will aid us in fixing
approximately the time during which the book was written.
The length of the romance of Huon precludes us from supposing
that it could have been completed before his retirement to Calais ;
and, if I am right in assuming that Froissart's Chronicles was the
first literary work that he produced, we must pronounce Huon to
• have been translated between 1525, the date of the completion of
Froissart, and 1533, the year of Lord Berners7 death. But whether
it was published within that period, other external evidence renders
by no means certain. I believe that like the Golden Boke of
Marcus Aurelius, and possibly other of his works, it was published
posthumously through the aid of an old friend.
In the Oxford copy of the third edition, dated 1601, occurs some
thirty lines bearing the superscription — The printer to the Historic
ensuing — and an examination of this prefatory note which, I can-
not doubt, was reprinted, with some revision, from the first and
probably the second editions, will, we hope, materially aid us in
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§ 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HUON OP BORDEAUX. liii
settling the question. The preface is divisible into two parts. The
first rehearses in general terms the uses to which the good examples
of such chivalric knights as Huon may be put, and resembles so
closely in style and sentiment the introductory notes written by Lord
Berners* own hand in his other works as to create a presumption
in favour of the belief that it has been rewritten in somewhat
heightened language from his own manuscript.1 The second details
the circumstances under which the romance came to be translated
and printed. The concluding half runs as follows : —
u Hence ensued (t. e. from the desire to promulgate heroic
examples — as expressed in the opening sentences) that desertfull
& worthy to bee remembred purpose, of Sir John BourcJiier,
Knight, Lord Berners, when not onely in the woorke of Huon
of Bourdeaux, but many other famous translations of like conse-
1 For purposes of readier comparison, and to prove that the prologue in the
1601 edition, does not contradict, with any internal evidence, my belief that
it has been taken from the first edition with possibly some " amendment," I
have printed the opening sentence of it and the Froistart prologue side by side.
FROISSABT.
What condygne graces & thankes
ought men to gyue to the writers of
hiatoryes, who with their great la-
bours, haue done so moche profyte to
the humayne lyfe : they shewe, open,
manifest, k declare to the reader by
example of olden antiquitie k what
we shulde enquere, desyre k folowe :
k also what we shulde cschewe, auoyde
k utterly flye : for whan we (beynge
vnexpert of chances) se, beholde k rede
the auncyent gestes k dedes, ho we k
with what labours, daungers k paryls
they were gested k done, they right
greatly admonesh, ensigne k teche, vs
howe we maye lede forthe our lyues :
k farther he that hath perfyte know-
ledge of others ioye, welth k highe
prosperi to k also trouble, sorowe k
great aduersyte, hath thexpert doc-
tryne of all parylles ; . . . What
knowledge shulde we haue of auncyent
thynges past, k historie were nat?
whiche is the testymony thereof, the
lyght of trouthe, the maystres of the
lyfe humayne, the presydent of remem-
braunce &the messangerof antiquyte.
HUON.
The foundation of all true fame
k repute, which in this world is
most to be reckoned of k esteemed,
(according to the opinion of all writers
both ancient & moderne) consisteth in
bold, honourable, k heroycall resolu-
tion, which en flames the soule with a
continuall thirsting desire, of pursu-
ing braue k generous purpose, per-
forming of high k adventurous
actions, which (when their bodies are
mantled up in the obscure moulde of
earth) leaueth their names cannon -
ized in Fames aeternall Calender, k
renounes them as rare presidents to
all following Posterities.
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THE ROMANCE OP HUON OP BORDEAUX.
quence by him perfourmed, he gaue witnesse to the world of so
laborious an endeavour, & (as it were) squared out an excelent
platfourme for generous imitation. But let me not herewithal forget,
that the right noble Earle of Huntingdon, Lord Hastings, was a
continuall spurre to him in the pursuite of such paines, & likewise a
cheerful 1 encourager of me in the imprinting, assisting euer both witli
his purse & honorable countenance the travaile that sorted so good
example. Which being now finished & made compleat, etc" The
colophon of the same volume states similarly that the translation was
undertaken by Lord Berners at the request of Lord Hastings, Earl of
Huntingdon.
We have here a clear allusion to Lord George Hastings, who was
the companion of Lord Berners in more than one of his campaigns in
France, and who was created Earl of Huntington in 1530, after
which date these sentences must have been written. Similarly, it
will be noticed that the reference to Lord Berners' labours is couched
in the past tense, and could scarcely have been penned in his life-
time (t. e. before 1533). The services done by Lord Huntingdon to
the printer here commemorated are, however, clearly connected
with the first publication of the romance, — with the printing of
Lord Berners' manuscript. The expression of thanks for his aid is
directly rendered to the Earl, so that the preface and the book, to
which it refers, must have been printed while he was still alive, — that
is, before 1542, the year of his death. We should therefore assign
the first edition to some date after 1533, and before 1542.
The conclusion is supported by the opinion of bibliographical
experts. Lowndes, in the Bihliograplier's Manual* stated that he
believed it to have been printed by Copland about 1540, but the
date we are inclined to think is too late by about six years. It is
also improbable from a comparison of Lord Crawford's Huon with the
type and woodcuts of works from William Copland's press that he was
the printer. No folio romances, it should further be remembered,
were printed by him before 1550. Mr. William Pickering, who care-
fully examined the type and paper of the unique copy of the first
edition, judged that it proceeded from the press of Wynkyn de Worde
1 1850, p. 1146.
§ 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HUON OF BORDEAUX.
lv
or Pynson.1 Mr. R. A. Graves of the British Museum, whose opinion
is of a high value in a question of this kind, although he has been
unable to find any book with exactly the same type, woodcuts, or
initial letters, as in the one before us, has arrived at the conclusion
that in its typographical features it most closely resembles the works
of Wynkyn de Worde. The differences between the type and initial
letters, for instance, of the present book and Wynkyn de Worde's
Boke named tJie Boiall, are certainly minuter than in any other
works of the time that I have examined. Wynkyn de Worde died
towards the end of the year 1534, and was engaged at his press
until the last. My final conclusion, therefore, is that Lord Crawford's
copy of Huon of Bordeaux should be dated about 1534 (*. e. after
March 16th, 1533, and before January, 1535), and that Wynkyn de
Worde was its printer.
It is still more difficult to determine the date of the second edition,
which has been wholly lost No trace of it appears in the Stationery
Registers. But the colophon of the third edition, which was prob-
ably a rough reprint by an enterprising bookseller of the second
edition, itself doubtless a reprint of the first, may enable us to fix
the year of publication. It is there stated that the book was
translated by Lord Berners u in the year of our Lord God one
thousand five hundred three score and ten." Such an assertion
taken literally is wholly gratuitous, but it seems probable that it
applies to the date of the second edition, whence the words were
erroneously copied into the third. Lord Berners* romance may there-
fore be said to have been published for a second time in 1570. The
fact that several bibliographers at the beginning of the century
assert distinctly that Huon of Bordeaux was printed by Copland,
makes it just possible that the second edition came from his press.
1 Mr. W. 0. Hazlitt {Handbook to Popular Literature of Great Britain,
1867, p. 289) states it to have been published by Robert Redborne, in 1535.
The entry of the book in the catalogue of the Coreser sale, makes it clear that
Pickering's opinion, which is quoted by several authorities in favour of
Redborne, was as we have stated it above. It is worth noting that several
cuts resembling those in Huon appear in Pynson's Sege and dystruccyon of
Troye (1513). They are, however, less finished, and are evidently taken from
wholly different blocks. It is just possible that they were copied by the
engraver who worked the Huon illustrations.
Ivi
THE ROMANCE OF HUON OP BORDEAUX.
The circumstance that he wa9 the leading publisher of romantic
literature at the time, strongly supports the inference.
The edition of 1601, of which, as I have noted, two copies are
extant, calls for some comment. It is evidently carelessly edited,
and has incorporated, I have shown, features peculiar to the first
and second edition indifferently. Its title-page runs as follows : —
" The / ANCIENT / honor able, famous / and delightfull Historie of
Huon of / Bourdeaux, one of the peeres / of Fraunce and Duke of
\Gayenne / Enterlaced with the loue of many La/dies as also the
fortunes & aduentures of Knights' / errant, their amorous Seruants /
Being now the Third time imprinted & the rude ILng/lish corrected
and amended. / London. Printed by Thomas Purfoot, and are to be
sould by / Edward White, at his shop at the little North dore / of
Poules at the signe of the Gunne. 1601." 1
Neither the copy at the British Museum, nor that at the
Bodleian library is quite perfect. The former wants the last pages,
and from the latter some twenty pages towards the end are missing.2
They are in black-letter octavos, but in type and paper are very inferior
to the first edition, and are without woodcuts. A rude attempt has
1 1. The Brit. Mus. copy (C. 40d. 42) has on the fly-leaf a MS. note by
Mr. Utterson, who reprinted several of Lord Berners' works at the beginning
of this century. It runs as follows: — "This is the only copy of L4 Berners'
translation of Huon of Bordeaux I have ever met with, although in search of
it for many years." — B. V. U. " The writing on the last page," it continues,
in reference to the beautiful manuscript imitations of priut which stands in
place of the lost pages, "in completion of the work, is, I am told by a
competent hand (?) that of the late Mr. Henderson, the Tragedian, to whom,
therefore, it is fair to infer the volume had formerly belonged." On the same
page is the autograph of '* R. Farmer," and in two different hands (probably
of booksellers) are set the prices £0 10*. 6d. and £1 10*. Od.
2. The Bodleian copy belonged to Douce, and in his hand appear the
following MS. notes I. "This the third edition, no other is known at
present to exist." IL "TW i have entered the frl title in my list, it neither
appears where there is a copy of it nor how i am authorized to say Lord
Berners was the translator for w'b however i presume there is good authority "
(Ritson). This copy is further stated iu another note to have been bought at
Major Pearson's sale for £1 Is. 0d„ and at Mr. Stevenson's sale for £1 5*. Od.
2 In the Bodleian copy, all between chapters 166 and the middle of chapter
171, and between chapter 176 and the last page of the last chapter 184 is missing.
It, however, possesses the preface which we have already discussed, and a table
of the chapters, both of which the British Museum copy is without. The
latter copy has lost its proper title-page and colophon. They are written in
printed characters.
§ 22. CONCLUSION.
Ivii
been made to revise the language of the translation, and to adapt its
style to the euphuistic prose of the later part of the 16th century.
But after the first few pages the reviser of the " rude English " has
abandoned any intention of radically " correcting " the text, and he
has contented himself with translating the conspicuously obsolete
words and phrases into their more modern equivalents. His labour
has for us a very high value. A comparison of the first and third
editions very adequately illustrates the change our language had
undergone, between the early and the late years of the century, and
the variant readings of the latter have therefore been collated in the
present edition with Lord Berners1 own version and printed at the
bottom of each page.1
Of a later edition of Huon of Bordeaux we have no positive
information, but the following entry in the Stationers1 Register in
1615 proves that its copyright continued to be of value to the
publisher, and that it may possibly have been subsequently reprinted.
Sexto Novembris : 1615
Master Purfbote / En tred for his copies by order of a full Court
holden this Day all theis following which were
the copies of Master Thomas Pnrfoote his father
Deceased ...... X*
vizt.
Tlie History of Huon of Burdeaux.*
§ 22. Thus it will be seen that Lord Berners* rendering of the
romance before us has many points of interest for English readers.
To the bibliophile the first edition has infinite attractions. All Lord
Berners' works are in his eyes to be more coveted than "fine gold,"
but none has so painfully tantalizing a bibliographical history as the
book before us. By the student of language the work must likewise
be highly valued. The translator's literary style displays, as well as
he could desire, the capacity of the English language at the date of
its composition, and the presence of a third edition of a later date
1 With Part II. will be published an essay on the linguistic points of
difference between the two editions.
% Arber's Transcript, III. 265ft. Ilnon stands among a number of other
books ; next above it is The booke of Palmestrye, and below, Tlie Italian
schvlctnaster.
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1 viii
THE ROMANCE OP HUON OF BORDEAUX.
in which Lord Bemers* English has been "amended" gives him
the best procurable opportunity of tracing the growth of our lan-
guage in Tudor times. Nor by the reader of English literature must
the romance be lightly estimated. It beguiled, as we have seen, the
leisure hours of many generations of our ancestors, and it introduced
King Oberon to the Elizabethan dramatists and poets. I have
omitted to dwell here upon its purely literary characteristics, not be-
cause they are deficient in number or without prominence, but because
I desired my readers to detect them for themselves. Although the
story has not the variety or the sustained interest of the Morte
U Arthur, and cannot escape censure for glaring faults of construction,
that it shares, throughout its latter portions, with others of its class,
many pages in the chapters contained in the present volume are
characterized by high artistic merit. Although the battles of brave
Huon, and his murderous attacks upon infidel Saracens may prove
wearisome at times, the simple honesty of his character cannot fail to
win our sympathy, and we feel drawn closer to him because he is no
model knight ; because he cannot always resist the ordinary human
passions, and is cursed with a perilous inquisitiveness. Similarly
Esclaramonde, the Saracen maiden, " the most fayrest creature in all
Inde, the most swetest and most courtesest," is depicted with a
charming na'iveti. Love at first sight could hardly be portrayed
with a more fascinating quaintness than in the words describing
the effect upon her of Huon's first rude embrace, which it is part
of his mission to Babylon to hazard. " She sawe hym so fayre &
felte his mouth so swete that she thought without she myght haue
hym to her louer, she sholde dye for sorrow, so that she chaunged
couloure, & blusshyd as ruddye as a rose." Of Oberon I have
already spoken at some length, but I have left it to my readers to
appreciate for themselves the grace and sweetness of his character.
He is only half a fairy. The grief that Huon's many failings cause
him, his high moral tone, and his humble bearing give him a higher
human interest than we are accustomed to associate with the inhabit-
ants of a supernatural world ; and there is nothing grotesque about
his powers of enchantment. Throughout the story he embodies the
spirit of mediaeval piety with its material anticipations of a future
§ 22. CONCLUSION.
lix
life. " And whan," he says, as he concludes his account of the mar-
vellous capacities with which the fairies have endowed him, " I shall
departe out of this worlde, my place is aperrelyd in paradyce, for I
know that all thyngs creatyd in this mortall world must nedys haue
an ende." With some occasional omissions, which each reader will
determine for himself, the romance cannot fail to reward perusal If the
language is less melodious than the minstrel's viol described in its
pages as making " so swete a sownde that it semed to be the mer-
maydes of the see," much of it is not to my ear without a music of
its own, and, if the pleasure that the story can give, is not that to be
derived from the most cunning literary workmanship, the travellers
who are wont to saunter along the bye- ways of our literature will not,
I believe, regret snch time as they spend in surveying its " antique
pageantry," and in listening to its recital
Of turneys and of trophies hung,
Of forests and enchantments drear."
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THE ADVENTURES OF
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1
^ere begynnythe the boke of duke Huon of
burdeux & of them that issuyd fro him.
Capitulo .i.
n2 the tyme acountyde the yere of grace a.d. 756.
.vii. c. & lvi. yeres after the crucyfyynge
of oure Sauyour Ihu Cryst, ther reygnyd
in f ranee the ryght glorious and Tictor-
yous prynce Charlies the grete, nam yd Ch»riet th»
Charleniayn / who in his tyme acheuyde, and brought in Franc*,
to an ende many hygh dedes and gret enterprysys by
12 the grace that oure lord god had gyuyn hym in this
transetory worlde / for he sayd that god had gynyn hym
the grace to haue the wyt and conduyt so to do / god
sent to aid hym, to acomplyshe, & to brynge to an ende
16 his noble enterprysys many a noble prynce and baron / with the aid of
so that, by the ayde of theyr forsses, with the noble uroMhThad4
proueB that god had enduyd them withall / he cowqueryde tl^ilmnnS?**
the Almayns / Sciauoney / & Spayne / and parte of 8Uv<mia» 8pain'
* Fol. i. col. 1 (A. i.).
* In the 1 amended ' edition of 1601, this paragraph runs
thus : — I italicize all changes : —
In the time by computation called y* yeere of grace, which
was Seauen Hundred, Fifty & Six yeares after our Sauiours
sufferings ; Charles the great, more vulgarly knowen by the
name of Cbarlemaine, a right royally religimis, $ warlike
Prince, rained at KINO in Fraunce, Emperour of Rome.
Whose course of time was apply cd to many high & heroycall
enterprises, wherein the favour of heaven was evermore so
assistant to him. as his owne heart and good hopes crowfied
him with the honovr of many snccessfuU victories : enabling
all his endeavovrs with the aid of diners noble Princes &
Barons, whose chiualrie $ right knightly perfovrvtances,
entitled him to the conquest of Almaigne, Sclauonia, Spaine,
CHARL. ROM. VI. B
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2
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. ii.
pnrt of Africa Affryke / & Saxoney / wher as he had moehe ado / but at
and Saxony, * '
the ende, by the ayde of his noble barons and chyualrey /
he subduyde and put them to playne dyscounfyture, and
was crownyde with the crowne of the holy empyre of 4
and Rained Rome / the renoume of hym and of hys noble valiaunt
immortal renown.
chyualry strechyd out of ye eest in to the west in such
wyse that for euer theyr shalbe1 made of hym pe?-petuall
memory, as here after ye shall here. 8
% How the Emperour Charlemayn requyryd
hys barons that they wolde chose one
amonge them to gouerne his empyre.
Ca. .ii. 12
o it was after that this ryght noble
Emperour charlemayn had lost his
dere nepheuse Rolant & Olyuer, &
dyuers other barons and knyghtes, in 16
the ryght pyteous* & dolorus batayle
that was at Rownseuall / where as theyr was so
grete & so pyteous a losse that al ye .xii. peres of
fra;?ce theyr were slayne excepte the good Duke Names 20
of Bauier. On a day ye noble Emperour held open
he summoned his court at his noble3 Cite of Paris / where as their was4
mT»t Pari*meet" many / Dukes, Erles / and barons / sonnes / and
nepheuse & parents 8 of the noble prynces before slayn 24
and deed in the fore sayde batayle / by the purchace6
and grete treason done and ymagenyde7 / by Duke
Saxonie, & a great part of Affrike, in all which attempt* it it
not to be doubted, but both he $ they had their hondes full of
busie iwployments. But let it suffice, God was their guide,
Religion the cause. Honour the obiecty $ per pet u all Fame the
reward, which both led him $ his traine to these worthy
attempts, $ still brought them backe with the due to theyr
valorous Enterprises : extending both his $ their renoirne
to all parts of the world. 4* registring their names in the
Kalender of neuer dying memorie.
1 shalbe be orig. 3 unfortunate. 3 cheefe.
4 were assembled. * kindred. 8 falshood.
7 contrived.
After the
Emperor's piteous
loss of eleven of
his twelve peers
at Roncesvnlles,
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OP A SUCCESSOR TO CHARLEMAGNE.
3
Ganelon / the noble Emperour euer beynge after in
doloure / and thougt1 / by reason of the grete anoyaunce
and dyspleasure that he hade of 8 hys sayde losse / and
4 also by cause that he was sore8 febylle for4 the grete
age that 6 he felt hymself in.5 Thus when the kynge /
and the pryncea and barons hade dynyd6 / the noble H»vin* dined
Empe7rour called hys lordys before hym, he syttyng wlththem'
8 on a benche rychely aperelyd8 / and besyde hym
satte9 hys noble barons and knyghtys. Tlian the kyng
called to hym Duke Naymes, and sayde / * Syr Duke
Naymes, and al ye 10 my barons beyng here present10 /
12 ye know ryght well 11 the greate tyme and space that I
haue bene kyng of Fraunce / and emperour of Rome 11 /
the whiche tyme durynge 12 1 have bene seruyd and
obeyed of you12 al, whereof I thanke you / & render chsries thanked
16 grace and prayse to god my swet creatore / and now by their long service,
cause that I knowe certenly / that my lyfe by course
of nature can not long endure / for thys cause13 He knows hie
pryncipally I haue causyd you all to be assemblyd here
20 to gether / to declare to you my pleasure & wyll / the
whiche I requere you all, & humbly e desyre you / that
ye wyll counsell together, and aduyse whiche of you
may & wyll haue14 the gouernaunce of my realme / for end begs them to
choose e
24 I can no longer bere the trauayle and payn of the successor.
gouernyng15 therof / for I wyl fro hense forth lyue y*
resedew of myn age in peace, and serue our lorde
god / wherfore, as moche as I may, I desyre you all to
28 aduyse whiche of you all shalbe therto most able / ye
know all that I haue two sonnes / that is to say, He has two sons,
1 Greefe & heavinesse. 8 by. 8 groweD verie. 4 through.
*— * now was stollen uppon him. 6 were there assembled.
* FoL i. bk, col. 1 (A. i.). 8 in his royall Chaire of Estate.
9 likewise placed in their seuerall degrees,
lo—io hether summoned by our royall coramaundement.
u— 11 howe longe I haue gouemed this kingdome of Fraunoe
& likewise swayed the imperial! Diadem of Hoome.
**— 18 I haue found your duty & seruice so agreeable.
" reason. 14 undertake. 15 belonging to the ruling.
B 2
Digitized by
4
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. iii.
Lewis and
Chariot,
bat neither is
fitted for the
crown.
Loys,1 who is to yonge, and Chariot, whom I loue well,
and he is of age suflysyent to rewll. But hys maners
and condesyons are not mete to haue the gouernaunce
of suche two noble empyrs2 as the realrae of Fraunce / 4
and the holy erapyre of Kome / for ye know well in
dayes past, by reason of hys pryde, my realme was
lykely to haue bene dystroyed, and I to haue had
it was chariot warre agynst you ail, whan by hys felony3 he slew 8
who slew the son
or o^er the Dane, Baudouyn, Sonne to good Ogyer the Dane / 4\vherby so
and cau*ed much
evil thereby. many illes hath fallen4 / that it shall neuer be5 out of
reme?ftbrance ; wherfore, as long as I lyue, I wyll not
consent that he shal haue the gouernanee6 / though he 12
be ryghtfull enherytor / and that after me he ought to
haue the syngnory. 7 Thus I desyre you to aduyse me7
what I shall do.'
The barons
consult and
declare for
Chariot.
% The conclusion & answer that the barons 16
made, & of the ill8 erle Amaury / & of the
cotfsell that he gaue to the kyng agaynst
the .ii. sonnes of Duke Seuin of Burdeux,
wherof grete myschyef fell after9 / and 20
of the good counsell10 that duke Naymes
gaue to the emperour. Cnpitulo .iii.
ban duke Naymes / & all the barons
a semblyd to gether in a corner11 of y* 24
]> ilays, and there were long io gether.
A I last they al concludyd that to Chariot
v" kynges eldest sone aperteynyd the
gouernyng of the sayd realmes. Then they returnyd to 28
the 12kynge, and shewyd hym there conclusyon where
I Lewes. * States. 3 rashness.
4-4 whereon so many mishaps ensued. * raced added.
6 gouernment.
7-7 But instantly 1 entreat your Noble opinions.
• dishonorable. 9 afterward ensued. 10 ad u ice.
II priuate parte. '* Fol. ii. col. I.
Digitized by
Ca. iii.J
OF TUB WILES OF EARL AMAURY.
5
a pon they were agreyd / of the whiche themperour was
ryght ioyfull. Than he called before hym hys sone, and
shewyd hym many fayre reasons before all hys barons /
4 therwith auauwcyd 1 forth a felon traytour who had greate Amaory,
b traitorous Earl,
audyence2 with theinperour, & he had the gouernaunce
of Chariot the kynges sone, who dyd no thyng but by
hym3 / he was called Erie Amaury / he was son to on
8 of the neuewse of the traytour Ganelon. Than he
sayde to the kyng & noble emperour, 4 ' how is it that points out
Chariot's
ye hast so sore to delyuer londys to gouerne to Chariot inexperience,
your sone ? 4 Syr, be not yet so hasty.6 But, ser, to se &
12 to proue hys gouernauwce,*gyue hym a lond that ought and advisee that
as a test he
to be your owne, wherof ye be nother honoryd nor should govern
Bordeaux,
eeruyd7 / y* which8 londe .ii. prowd boyes doth kepe / whose princes
who, this vii. yere passyd, wolde not serue you / nop, Gerard,
16 syn theyr father ye duke Seuyn dyed, wold do you any having done no
4 . * . » » obeisance,
obeysaunce / the eldest is namyd Huon / and the other
Gerarde / they kepe Burdeux and all the londe of
Aquitainie / they thynke skorne to releue9 theyr londys
20 of you. But, ser, yf ye wyl gyue me me??,10 I shal
brynge theym as prysoners in to your paleys, to do he win
prisoners.
your wyll with them / and than the londe that they
hold / gyue it to Chariot your sone.' ' Amaury/ quod
24 the emperour, 'I caw you gret thanke that ye haue The emperor
aduertysyd me of thys mater. I wyll ye take of your
best frendys, and besyde theym ye shall haue of myn
.iii. M.11 knyghtys, wel chosen and prouyd men of
28 warre / & I wyl that ye brynge to me the two sonnes
of duke Seuyn, that is to say, Huon / and gerarde,
who by theyr pryde settyth12 no thynge by me.'
I stepped. * too much secrecie. 3 his direction.
*-4 whence proceeds it that you are so forward in deliuer-
ance of your kingdome to the weake gouerning of Chariot your
sonne?
* forbeare this hastnisse. 6 his ablenesse in such a case.
7 where you haue as yet neither fealtie nor seruice.
* this. 9 hold. ia and authoritie added.
II Thousand. 12 set.
Digitized by
Google
6
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. iii.
Duke Naymes
complaint of
Amnury's guile
and the king's
He advises that
Huon and his
brother, who are
rery young,
Han Duke Naymes, heynge there
present, herd the wordys of Amaury,
and saw how the emperour consentyd
to hys desyre, he stept forth fyerslye,1 4
& 2 beheld Amaury, and sayde openly : 8
1 syr emperour, grete yll and greate syn it is that ye so
lyghtly do beleue suche men as ye know wel were neuer
certen nor trew. Syr, duke Seuyn hath seruyd you all 8
hys dayes wel and trewly / nor neuer dyd thynge wherby
ye ought to dysenheryte hys chydren / the cause that
they haue not come to your presence or thys tyme to
serue you is none other cause but by reason they be so 12
yonge. And also theyr mother who louyth theym in-
tierly / wyll not gladly suffer them to departe fro hyr,
by cause of theyr yonge age. But, syr, yf ye wyll beleue
me, ye shal not be ro hasty to take from them there 16
londes. But, syr, do as a noble prynce ought to do
for ye loue of theyr father who so trewly hath seruyd
you / syr, sende .ii. of your knyghtes to ye duches theyr
mother / & let them say to hyr fro you, that she do 20
sende hyr tow sonnes to you in to your court to serue
i boldly. » Fol. ii. col. 2.
3 This speech is wholly rewritten in the later edition, and
runs thus : — The ill is great but the sinne farre greater, when
men of no truth or certaintie are so highly listned unto. As
for Duke Seuin, is it not well knowne, my Lord, what true &
honorable seruice all his dayes he did you 1 tc can you then bee
so easilye woone to disinherite his children ? Consider, good
my Lord, that the reason why as yet they haue not tendered
their dutie in your presence, is nothing else but their want of
years for such allegiance, & their Mother deerely respecting
them, is loath to leaue their companie so young. And would
your Highness but be aduysed by me, you should not so
rashly depriue them of their londes : but rather as best
becomineth a vertuous Prince, & in some regard of their
Father's good seruice, first send two of your knightes to the
Duchesse & let them in your name commaund her Sonnes
personall appearance at your Court in case of seruice 6c
dutifull homage: which if she or they shall refuse to doe,
then may you justly proceede otherwise against them. But I
dare (my Lord) engage my honour, that send them shee will,
and that onely a Mother's loue 8c care of her Children hath
been the reason ef their absence all this while.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. iv.] HOW ME88BN6ERS WERE SENT TO THE DUCHESS. 7
you and to do theyr homage. And yf it be so that she should be «ent for
to do homage.
nor they wyll not obey your commaundement, then
shall ye haue a iust cause to prouyde a remedy e. But,
4 syr, I kuow for certeyn / ye duches wyl send them to
you, for y* absence that they haue made is for no
thynge / but for the loue that the mother hath vnto
hyr chyldren.'
8 % Howe that themperour Charlemayne sent
two knyghtys to the duches to burdeux to
co/«mau#d hyr to sende hyr two sonnes to
hys court. Capitulo iiii.
12 1H51(SrWfc ^an ^6 emPerour Charles had hard Charles approTes.
duke Naimes speke, he sayde, 'Syr
duke, I knowe certenly 2 that duke
Seuyn hath seruyd vs trewly / and the
reason that ye have shewyd is iust
And therfore I grauwt that it shalbe as ye haue
deuysydV3 'Syr/ 4 quod y* duke, 'I thanke your
grace.' Than incontynent the kynge sent for two Messengers an
20 knyghtes, and gaue theym in charge to go to burdeux Bordeaux,
to do hys message to the duches, and to the sonnes of
duke Seuyn / the whiche they dyd, and so departyd
fro Parys without restynge past one night in a plase,
24 tyll6 they aryued at burdeux / and than incontynent
they went to y* palays, where as they founde the
duches, who was as than but newly rysyn fro hyr
dyner ; and whan she was aduertysyd of there comni-
28 yng / she cam in haste to mete theym / acompenyd
with Huon hyr son, who was by hyr; and Gerarde
came after with a sparhawke 6 on hys fyst / when the
messengers saw the duches and hyr two goodly sonnes /
32 they kneylyd down, and salutyd the duches / & hyr They ssiute the
* r * duc|,en» and Iter
two sonnes 7 fro kynge Charlemayn, and sayd, ' Lady, sons from the
Emperor,
1 Fol. ii. back, col. 1. 2 for certainty. 9 aduised.
4 My Lord. 6 until!. 8 spnrrowhawke. 7 col. 2.
Digitized by
mjOtf OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. V.
to you we be sent fro our emperour Charles / who by
vs sehdyht to1 you hys salatasyon with honour and
amyte.' When the noble lady vnderstode that they
were messengers sent fro the noble emperour Charles /
she auaunsyd and embrasyd theym / and sayde how they
were ryght welcom. 'Dam/2 quod they, 'our emperour
and bid hw send hath sent vs to you / & commaundyth you to send to
her sons to court
on peril of losing hyra your two sonnes to serue hym in hys court / for
her land to J J
Chariot.
8
The ducheae
pleads in excuse
their youth,
ther are but 8 few in hys reahne, but that are come to
his seruyce, except your sonnes / &, lady, syn ye know
that the londe that ye hold parteynynge to your sonnes
is holden of y* emperour Charles, by reason of his 12
realme of 4 Fraunce / and he hath greate merueyll that
ye have not sent them or 6 thys tyme to do hym sluice
as other dukes & prynces6 hath 7 done / wherfore,8
lady, he commauwdyth you for your welth, and con- 16
ceruasyon of your londys, that ye send them to hym /
or yf ye do not / know for certeyn he wyll take fro
you suche londys as ye hold, & gyue them to Chariot
hys sone / 9 Wherfore may it please you to shewe vs 20
your good wyll/ 9
% The aunswer that the duches of burdeux
made to themperours messengers.
Capitulo v. 24
Han the good lady hade well vnder-
stonde the messengers, she aunswered
them swetlye,10& sayde, 'Syrs,11 knowe
for certeyn the cause that12 I have not 28
sent my sonnes / to the court or13 thys
tyme / to serue y* kynge as reason is14 / was by cause I
1 unto. ' Madome. * verie. 4 royall prerogative in.
• ere. 6 in like case, added. 7 have. 8 In this respect
*-* This is the sum me of our Messuage, and wee attend
your answeare.
10 gently. 11 My Lordes and honourable Freendes.
18 the reason why. 13 before. 14 dutie required.
Digitized by Google
OP THEIR RECEPTION AT BORDEAUX.
9
saw theym so yonge;1 and also for the loue of duke md the Emperor^
J J G ' love to their
Seuyn theyr father / and by cause I knewe certenly lather,
that my ryghtfull 2lurde, the emperour Charlemayne /
4 loued alwayes the duke Seuyn, trustynge alwayes
that he wold take no dyspleasure with the chyldren /
these thynges hath 3 ben the pryneypall cause that I
haue not sent them or thys 4 to serue the kynge /
8 wherfore, Syrs, I requyre you, as affectuosly as I can,5
to be meanes to themperour and to al the other barons
to haue me and my chyldren excusyd, for y* faulte is
alonlye in me and not in them.' Than Huon stept
12 forth before hys mother and sayde : — ' Madame, yf
it had ben your pleasure, ye myght haue sent vs or 6
thys tyme ' / ' that is trew,' quod Gerardyn / ' for we be
grete ynow to be made knyghte*.' 7 The lady behelde
16 hyr two sonnes and wepynge sayde to the messengers,
' Syrs, ye may retourne to the kynge / howe be it ye
shal reste you thys nyght in my house, and to morow she bide the
messengers stay
retourne 8 at your pleasure / and ye shall recommend the night,
20 me and my sonnes to ye kynges good grace & to the
other barons and knightes / and amonge other salute
0 ' Naymes on their
duke Naymes, who is nero parent9 to my sonnes / and return,
desyre hym fur y'loue of duke Seuin to haue my sonnes
24 as ^ecomme/ldyd., 10 114 Dame/12 quod the messengers,
' haue ye no dought / for Duke Naymes is a noble man
and a trew knyght / nor he wyl neuer13 be in no1* plase
where any yll iugeraent 15 shulde be gyuen.' Than the
28 duches comraaundyd hyr sonnes / that they shulde make
the kynges messengers good chere and to bryng them in
to theyr chambre to reste them / the whiche they dyde /
1 in regarde of their tender yeares. * Fol. Hi. col 1 (A. iii.).
■ haue. 4 all this while.
* let my entreats preuaile so much with you as. 6 before.
7 are old ynough to have our knighthood. 8 depart.
9 kinsman. 10 to stand a continuall freend unto them.
11 FoL iii. col. 2. 12 Madame. 13 will he at any time.
14 omitted, 15 opinion.
Digitized by
10
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. V.
In the presence
of the messenger*,
tho duchess
promises to send
Huon snd Gerard
to the Emperor at
Easter,
and advises them
as to their
conduct at court.
Presents are
given to the
messengers,
and they depart
for Parts.
and were serued, and festyd as it aparteyned.1 Than
y* next niornynge they retouraed to ye palayes where as
they founde the duches and hyr two sonnes / and they
humbly salutyd the lady / whan ye duches sawe them 4
she called Huon and Gerardyn, and sayde, ' chyldren,
here in the presence of these two knyghtes I say that
at Ester ye shal go to our soueren lorde themperour
Charlemayn / and, when ye be in y* court, serue your 8
soueren lorde well & trewly, as subgettes ought to doo ;
be delygent at all tymys to serue hym trewly,2 and
kepe company with noble men such as ye se that be
of good8 condysyons / be not in the plase where yll 12
wordy 8 be spoken, or yll counsell gyuen / fly fro com-
pany of them that louyth not honour & trouthe /
open not your eeres to here liers, or false reporters, or
flaterers / haunt often the chyrche, and gyue largely 16
for goddes sake / be lyberal and courteys, & gyue to
poore knyghtes / fly the company of ianglers / and all
goodnes shall folow therby. I wyli there be gyue??
to eche of these knyghtes a courser & a ryche 20
gowne, as it aparteyneth to the messengers of a noble
emperour as is Charlemayne / & also eche of them
to haue a C.4 florence '/ ' Madame/ quod Huon, ' yowr
pleasure shalbe acomplyshed ' / than the .ii. sonnes 24
causyd to be brought before the palays two goodly
horses, and presentyd them to the two knyghtes, and
gave eche of them a ryche gown and a .C. florence /
Whereof the messengers were ioyfull, and thanked the 28
duches and hyr two 6 sonnes, & sayde that theyr
courtesey shulde be remembred in tyme to come / how-
bey t they knew well it was done for y* honour of the
kynge / then they toke leue of the duches and of hyr 32
two sonnes, and so departyd / and rode without lette
1 as appertained to their woorth. * faithfully.
' and vertuous added. 4 hundred.
4 Fol. iii. back, col. 1.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. v.]
OF THE RETURN OF THE MESSENGERS.
11
tyll they came to Parys, where as they founde the
emperour in hys palayes syttynge amonge hys barons /
the kynge parseyued them / and incontynent called
4 them to his presence, and, or1 they hade layser to
speke, the kyng badde them welcome home, and
demaundyd of them yf they had ben at Burdeux, and
spoken with the duches and the .ii. sonnes of duke
8 Seuyn, & whether they wolde come and serve hym in
hys court or not. ' Syr/2 quod they, ' we haue ben at on their arrival
burdeux, and done your message to the duches / who Em^ror™thee
ryght humbly reseyved vs, and made vs grete fest8 and ducheM promla
12 chere / when she had hard vs speke, and knewe that
we were your messengers, she made vs the best chere
that she cowde deuyse, and sayde that the cause why
she had not sente hyr sonnes to your courte before thys
16 tyme, was by cause of theyr yonge age / and she
huwibly requyreth your grace 4 to haue6 hyr and hyr
two sonnes excusyd / and that at thys next Ester she
wyll sende them to your court. And, syr,6 the two and hereon*
* . behaviour
20 chyldren are so goodly7 that it is pleasure to beholde toward* them,
them / specyally Huon the eldest is so fayre and so
well formyd that nature cannot amende hym. Also,
syr, for the loue of you she hath gyuen eche of vs a
24 goodly horse, & a ryche gowne, and a C. florence of
gold. Syr, y* goodnes, the valewre and ye courtesey
that is in the duches and in hyr sonnes cannot be
recountyde. Syr, ye duches and hyr two sonnes
28 requyreth your grace8 to retayne them alwayes in your
fauoure and good grace / and to pardone the faulte of
theyr longe absence. '
1 ere. * Dread Lord. * gaue ub gentle entertainment
4 FoL iii. back, col. 2. 4 hold. 6 trust me, my Lord.
7 two such lovely Gentlemen.
8 and on their behalf are we to entreat your Maiestie.
12
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. vl
Charles com-
mends the conduct
of the youths as
worthy the sons
of his friend and
knight Duke
Sevin,
and promises
them high posts
at court.
He orders
Aniaury to be
banished.
Amaury in grief,
and filled with
hate of Huon and
Gerard,
devises a plot
against them.
% How themperour was content with the
report of the two knyghtes / and howe the
traytor erle Amaury went & cowpleyned to
Chariot the kynges sone. Capitulo .vi. 4
Han themperour had hard ye mes-
sengers speke, he was ryght ioyfull,
and sayd / ' alwayes I haue harde say
that a good Impe1 bryngethe forth 8
good 2£reute / I say it for duke
Seuyn / who in his tyme was a valyant & trewe knyght,
& by that I so and here3 the two chyldren resembleth
theyr good father. I se4 they haue reseyued my 12
messengers ryght honorably, and with grete reuerewce
hath gyuen them grete5 gyftes, ye whiche shalbe to
them vaylable6 in tyme to come / for they shal no soner
be come to my court, but in the dyspyght of them7 16
that wyll speke agaynst them, I shall do for them in
8uche wyse that it shalbe an ensample8 to al other to
do well / for I wyll make them, for loue of theyr
father, of my pryuey counselL' Than themperour 20
behelde duke Naymes and sayde : ' Syr duke,9 alwayes
your parentes10 hath11 ben good and trew, and certenly
I wyll that Amaury be banyshed my court / for he,
nor neuer none12 of hys lynage, gaue as yette any good 24
counsell.' ' Syr,' quod the duke, ' I knewe well y*
longe absence of duke Seuyns sonnes was for none
other cause but by reason of theyr yought ' / Whan the
erle Amaury had harde the kynge speke, & sawe howe 28
he was chafyd 13 agaynste hym, he was sorowful, and so
departed secretely fro the courte, and sware that he
wolde purchace14 for the two sonnes of duke Seuyn
1 tree. a Fol. iiii. col. 1.
* no meane. 6 auailable.
9 My Lord. 10 kindred.
13 offended.
■ that.
7 any.
11 haue.
14 prouide.
4 perceiue.
8 example.
18 euer any.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. Vl] OF THE PLOT AGAINST HUON AND HIS BROTHER.
13
8uche a broth1 that they shulde bo the dye in dolowre,2
and wolde do so myche that he wolde brynge all
Fraunce in to heuynes and trouble3 / so he went to hya
4 lodgyng sorowfull and in grete dyspleasure / and than
he imagyned and studyed on the mater, & howe to
brynge about his interpryse / thaw he departed fro hys
lodgyng, and went to Chariot the kynges sone, with He reveah it and
8 whome he was ryght pryuey / he f ounde hym syttyng alariS"^ king's
on a ryehe couche4 deuysynge5 with a yonge knyght / '
than Amaury 6wepynge with a peteous vysage / and
hys eyen full of water,6 he entred in 4*> the chambre /
12 andknelyde downe before Chariot, who hadde of hym
grete petye to se hym in that case. Than 7 Chariot
toke hym vp, & demaundyd wherfore he made that
sorow, and whether any man had dysplesed hym.
16 1 Syr/ quod Amaury, ' I shall shew you / trew it is8
the two sonnes of duke Seuyn of burdeux / shal come
to the courte, and, as I haue harde say, the kynge hath
sayde that, at there commynge, they shalbe made of hys
20 pryuey counsell / so that none other oboute the kynge
shall haue 9 no profyght nor wynynge. But they and
I can se none other that yf they thus come / by them,
all other9 that be now grete about the kynge shalbe
24 chasyd away, so that within this .ii. yere they shall
haue y* beste quarter10 of the real me of Fraunce / &
you, yf ye suffer it, they shal brynge you clere out of
temperours fauore your father. Therf ore, Syr, I requyre «id begs for hit
•Jd.
28 you helpe me now in thys besynes / for in tyme past
duke Seuyn theyr father, by grete wronge and grete
1 traine. * as should cost both their Hues.
9 and hazard the heauinesse & trouble of all Fraunce
beside. 4 bed. 4 communing.
*— 6 shewing a very sad countenance, the teares in his
eyes & trecherie in bis heart.
7 Fol. iiii. col. 2. 8 my greefe is not without great cause, for.
9~9 any honour or reckoning made of them. And assure
yourselfe, my Lord, that if the Stato be thus aduanced, they.
10
partes.
u
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. vi.
The earl propoeee
to lay an ambush
on the road,
and set upon the
youths and slay
them in their
journey from
Bordeaux.
Chariot agrees to
Chariot and
Amaury prepare
the plot,
and leare Paris
nt midnight with
their men.
treason, he toke fro me a strong castell of myn owne, &
I neuer dyd him dysplesure / ser, ye ought to ayde in
this besines,1 for I am of that lynage / by reason of the
noble quene your mother.' 4
1F Whan Chariot had wel understonde y*erle Amaury,
he demaundyd in what maner he myght ayde him /
' syr/ quod he, ' I shal shew you. I shall assemble y*
best of my lynage, & ye shal let me haue of yours .lx. 8
knyghtes well armyd, & I shal lye in y* way / to mete
with y* .ii. boyes / & I shal lay ye bushmewt2 in a
lyttyll wood a lege fro Montleherry on ye way to
Orleance, by ye whiche waye they must nede* come / 12
& than we shall sette on them, <fc slay them also, that
none shal speke therof / and if it be knowen after,
who dare say agaynst you, or were any helme* agaynst
you V / * ser/ quod Chariot, ' sease 4 & apeace your 1 6
sorow / for I shal neuer haue ioy in my herte tyll I be
reuengyd of these .ii. boyes / goo, & make redy your
men, & I shal prepare myn, & I wyl go my self m'th
you y* soner to make an end of this besynes ,6 / whan 20
Amaury hard 6 Chariot so liberally to offer hym selfe to
go in hys ayde, he thanked hym, and embrased hys
lege, & wolde a7 kyssed his shoo. But Chariot wold
not suffer hym. But toke hym vp, and sayde : — 1 Syr, 24
haste you / and put to your payne that thys besynes
may com to a good end.' Amaury departed fro Chariot
ryght ioyous, and, at the day apoynted, he seasyd not
day nor nyght to assemble hys men and hys next8 28
frendys / and, in the euenyng before, he came to
Chariot, who was as than also redy, and hys men / and,
as secretely as they myght, they departed about the
owre of mydnyght out of Parys, al armed, and they 32
seasyd9 not tyll they came to the plase apoynted to
serious matter. * ambushment. * healme in feeld.
4 qualifie. 4 buainesse. 0 Fol. iiii. back, col. 1.
7 haue. ■ nearest
stayed.
Digitized by
Ca. vii.J HOW HUON AND GERARD SET OUT FOR PARIS. 15
tary the cowmiynge of the .ii. sonnes of duke Seuyn /
now I wyll leue to speke of them, and returne to
speke of the two sonnes of duke Seuyn / Huon and
4 Gerardyn.
% Howe the two sonnes of duke Seuyn of
burdeux toke leue of the duches there
mother / & howe in there way they ouer
8 toke the good abbot of Cluny there vncle
goynge towardys Paris to the einperour
Charlemayn. Capitulo .vii.
E1 haue wel harde here before howe the Huon and Gerard
take leave of their
messengers of the kynges departed fro friende and their
mother*
burdeux. Than the two chyldren2 made
them redy to go to the courte, rychely
apareyled / and well fornysshyd of
16 euery thynge nedefull, aswell of gold & syluer & other
aparel of sylke as to theyr estate apperteynyd / than
they3 assemblyd the batons of the eountre, to whom
they recommaundyd theyr londys and sygnyoryes /
20 and dyd chose out .x. knyghte* and .iiii counsellers Ten knw»u hear
them company.
to ryde with them to ayde and to gouerne theyr
besynes. Than they sent for ye provost of Gerone,
called ser Guy re, to whom they recowmaundyd all the
24 feacle*5 of iustice / than,6 when Huon and his brother
had chosen them that shuld go in theyr companye,
than7 they toke theyr leue of ye duches there mother,
and of the barons of the eountre, who sore dyd wepe
28 by cause of there deperture / of 8 the which they had
good occasyon so to do / and more yf they hade knowen
the peteous9 aduenture that 10 fell after to the two
chyldren ; for, yf y* duches had knowen10 therof, she
1 You. * sons. * there. 4 Fol. iiii. back, col. 2.
• affaires. 6 Then. 7 than om. • for. 9 haplesse.
lo—io aftcrward befell them on the way. Or had the good
Duchesse but dreamed.
Digitized by
16
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca, vii.
The dochett and
her people weep
at their departure.
On their way
Gerard tells Huon
a dream of evil
Import.
wold neuer haue sufFeryd thera to departe fro hyr / for
after there fell suche myschyfe that it is a peteous1
thynge to recount it. Thus y* .ii. bretherne departyd
& kyssyd theyr mother, sore wepynge. Thus2 they 4
toke theyr horses and theyr company, and in passynge
by y* strettys of y* towne / ye people made grete
sorow for theyr departynge, &, sore wepynge, prayed to
god to be 3 theyr gyde and condute. The wepynges & 8
lamentacyons were so extreme that the .ii. brethern
kowd not haue so ferme a4 courage. But that they
gaue many a sore seyghe at theyr5 departinge out of
the town / and when they had rydyn a certeyn space, 12
and that theyr sorow was sumwhat apeasyd / than6
Huon called hys brother Gerarde & sayde, 'Brother,
we go to the court to serue the kyng, wherfore we
haue cause to be ioyfull / wherfore7 lette vs two synge 16
a songe to refreshe vs ' / ' brother/ quod Gerarde, 4 my
hert is not very ioyfull to synge nor to make fest8 / for
thys nyght I drempt9 a merwelous dreme / me thought
.iii. lybardes10 assayllyd me and drew out11 my hert out 20
of my body. But me thought ye skapyd12 saue and
sownd, and retournyd bak / wherfore, dere brother, yf 13
it be your pleasure / to withstand my dreme, Mthe
whiche I reken our wyage to be a daungerous passage / 24
therfor I wold desyre you lete vs retourne14 agayn to
Burdeux to our mother. She16 wyll be ioyfull of our
retourne.' ' Brother,' quod Huon, ' & god wyll, we
shall not retourne for feer of a dreme, it shuld be for 28
euer to our reproche and shame / I wyll not retourne
to Burdeux tyll 16 I haue sene the kynge. Therfore,
1 lamentable. * Then. ■ Fol. v. col. 1. 4 firme.
* the. • then. 7 therefore.
* sing or make any sport at all. 9 dreamed. 10 Leopardes.
11 drewe. 19 you escapyd. " if so.
i4_i4 whjch makes me dread our iourney to be dangerous :
might I preuaile with you, we would ride backe.
11 who. 16 vntill.
Digitized by
Ca. vil] OP THEIR JOURNEY TO MONTLEHERRY. 17
swete brother, dismay you not. But rather make good
chere; our lorde Ihesu Crist shal gyde & condute vs
in saue gard.' Thus these two bretherne rode nyght
4 and day so longe tyll they parseyued before theym the They m» before
A„ . t ... / . , them the Abbot of
Abbot of Oluny with a .xxx. horse in hys companye, ciony and m»
company.
and he was goynge to the kynges court
*Han Huon parseyued that companye, he
called hys brother Gerardyn and sayde :
' loo, yonder I se men of relygyon hold-
ynge the way to Parys /Ay*1 know
well whan we departyd fro y* duches
12 our mo2ther, she chargyd vs that we
shuld always companye with good peopyl / therfore
it is good that we make hast to ouertake them.'
' Brother/ quod Gerardyn, ' your pleasure be fulfylled : '
16 so they rode so longe that they ouertoke the Abbot,
who regard yd on y0 ryght syde, and saw the .ii.
bretheren eowmyng to ouertake hym. Than8 he stode
styll, and saw Huon who came rydynge on before /
20 Huon salutyd hym humbly / and the abbot in lyke They ride on and
•alutti the Abbot.
maner to hym / & demaundyd whether he rode so
hastely, and fro whense he came, and what he was,
and who was hys father. ' Syr,' quod Huon, *syn4 it
24 is your pleasure to knowe, Duke Seuyn of burdeux was
our father : it is .vii. yere syns he trepasyd6 thys lyfe.
And, ser, behold here my brother, who is yonger than 6
I, and we are goynge to noble kynge Charlemayns
28 court, to releue of hym our londys and countre / for he
hath sent for vs by two noble knyghtes / and, syr, we
are in dowt of sum truble by the way ' / When the
good Abbot vnderstode that they were sonnes to duke The Abbot
32 Seuyn, he was ryght ioyfull / and in token of trew kindly,
amyte he embrassyd theym one after another, and
sayde / ' dere frendys, haue no dowt, for, by the grace
1 you. * FoL v. col. 2. * Then. 4 since.
* departed. • then.
CHABL. ROM. VI. 0
Digitized by
18
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. viii.
and offers to
conduct them to
Paris.
Together they
approach tho
wood,
where Chariot
and Amaury lie
in ambush.
of Ihcsu Cryst, I shall condute1 you sauoly to Parys /
for duke Seuyn your father was my cousyn germayn,
wherfore2 I am bownd to ayde you : know3 for
trought, I4 am sworue of the greate counsell with i
kynge Charlemayn / and yf there be any that wyl
moue or sty re against you, I shall ayde you to my
power / wherfore ye6 may ryde suerly in my company
without any dowt.' ' Syr,' quod Huon, ' I thanke you ' / 8
thus they rode talkyng with yc abbot theyr parent : 6
that nyght they came to Mowtleherry. Than the next
day they rose7 be tymys and herd masse, & after
masse8 toke theyr horsses ; and they were in all a .iiii. 12
score horsses / & they rode so longo tyll they came to a
lytyll 9woodsyde / where as Chariot and the erle
Amaury lay in a bushmewt / and10 they spyed Huon
and Gerarde rydynge before, wherof they were ioyfull. 16
Than Amaury11 sayde to Chariot, * Syr, now is the tyme
come to be reuengyd of tho damage that duke Seuyn
dyd to me / yonder I se hys ,ii. sonnes cowmyng : yf
they be not incontynent slayne by vs, we are not 20
worthy to haue any lond.u And Syr, by theyr deth
ye shall be lordo of Burdeux / and of all the duchy of
Aquytanie.' 13
14 ^[ Howe by the counsell of the erle of 15 24
Araaiiry they * ran fyrst16 [at] Gerardyn,
brother to Huon, & bare hym to the erth,
and sore wouwdyd hym, wherof Huon was
ryght sorowfull. Capitulo .viii. 28
1 conducte. * therefore. 3 and know. 4 that I.
4 you. • kinsman. 7 arose. 8 afterward.
9 Fol. v. back, col. 1. 10 lay closely ambushed, there.
11 Then Americ. 12 Land or life. 13 Aquitaine.
14 Fol. v. back, top of col. 2. 16 of Earle 16 firete at
Digitized by
Ca. viii.] of the meeting of < harlot and gerabd. 19
Han1 that Chariot vnderstode the erle
Amaury, he strechyd hym in hys
eteropes, and toke a spere with a
sharpe hed, and issuyd out2 alone out chariot advances
alone from the
of the wood / when Amaury saw that wood fully armed
Chariot went out of the wood alone, he drew a lytyll
out of the way, & sayde to hys men, 1 suffer Chariot
8 alone, there nede none go to ayde hym.' Thy 8 sayde
y* false traytour, by cause he desyred no thyng elles,
but3 one of the sonnes of duke Seuyn myght sley Chariot,
4wherby he thought [Chariot] shuld be dystroyed
12 in acusynge them of murder, wherby he myght cotne
to4 his dampnable 5 intent / Chariot came agaynst thes
.ii. brethern / the Abbot of Cluny saw Chariot comm- The Abbot
i i i perceive* him
ynge al armyde / and saw in the wood a greate nombre afar off.
16 of armyd men6 / then he stode sty 11, and called Huon
& Gerarde, & sayde / 'dere neuewse, I parseyue7 in
yonder wood a knyght all armyd, and the wood full of
horsemen : I can not tell what they meane. Haue ye
20 done any wronge to any man? yf ye haue done, or
holde any thynge that ys not your owne / steppe forth
and offer hym reason, and promyse to make a inendys.'
* Syr/ quod Huon, * I know no man lyuyng that I or
24 my brother haue done to hym any displeasure / nor
we know not that any creature do8 hate vs 1 / than
Huon sayde to hys brother, ' Syr,9 ryde on before, and Htwn sends
Gerard to ask his
mete with yonder knyght / and demaunde what is hys pleasure.
28 pleasure.' Gerarde rode forth and mette with Chariot,
and demandyd what hys pleasure was to haue, or
whether he was kepar of that passage or not, and
demaundyd any trybute or not : yf he dyd, he was
32 redy to pay yt. Chariot aunswered hym fyersly, and
sayde, ' what art thou ? ' Gerarde aunswered and
1 Across the page, not in columns. * yssued. 8 but that.
*— 4 and as himselfe detecting them of the murder.
4 Fol. vi. col. 1. • men more. 7 perceiue.
8 doth. 9 Brother.
C 2
Digitized by
20
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. viii.
sayde, ' Syr, I am of the Cite of Burdeux, and sone to
duke Souyn, whom god pardon ; and herafter commyth
Huon myn elder brother, and we are goyng to Parys to
the kynges court, to releue our londys and our fees, 4
and to serue hym / and yf there be any tliat wyl any
thyng with vs, let hym come to Parys, & we shall do
chariot replies hym reason.' 4 Hold thy toung,' quod Chariot, « whether
that their father J '
didhimbaae thou wylt or not, I wyll haue reason 2of that / that 8
wrong, Seuin thy father toke fro me1 / for he toke .iii. of my
Castelles,2 and I kowd neuer 8 haue reason of hym.8
for which he will But now, syne 4 thou art here, I wyl be reuengyd of the
revenge himself ' J 1 J ej
noj^»iving WTonge that thy father dyde to me, for as long as thou 12
and thy brother be a lyue, I shall neuer haue ioy in
my hert / there for 5 bo ware of me, for, or5 it be nyght,
I shall 6 make thy lyfe depart fro thy bodye.' ' Syr,'
quod Gerarde, ' haue petye of me : ye may se I am but 16
naked without armure. It shalbe greatly to your
veleny7 and reproche yf I be thus slayne by you : it
Gerard pleads that neuer commyth of a yentyll courage of any8 knyght to
he is unarmed. . * , ~ _ _
assayle any person wit/zout armure or wepeyn / ho we 20
be it, syr, I crye you mercy / wel ye se that I haue
nother swerde / shylde / nor spere / to defende me wit/*
all / ye may se yonder comyng my elder brother, who
shalbe redy to make you amende*, yf any harme hath 24
chariot will hear bene done to you ' / * peace,' quod Charlote / ' theyr ys
nothing,
as now no thynge so dere to9 me as can moue me
contrare. But that shamfully I shall put [thee] to y*10
deth / beware of me.' Gerarde, who was but yonge, 28
was in greate feer, and called apon our lorde god, and
tournyd hys hors to come agayne to hys brother. But
and rushes upon Chariot, who was in hys foolyshe opynyon,11 cowchyd
him,
hys spere / and ran after Gerarde, and strake12 hym on 32
1-1 for some wrongs done me by thy Father Duko Seuin.
* Castles from me. *— * know the reason thereof. 4 since.
*— * stand on thy ground, for before. 6 Fol. vi. col. 2.
7 shame. 8 or a. 9 vnto. 10 put thee to.
11 dcBperate moode. '* strooke.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. yiiL]
HOW GERARD IS STRUCK DOWN.
21
the syde with suche force that the spere ran throw
parte of hys body, and so bare hym to the erth, Gerard fails,
wenyng he had bene alayn / how be it y* stroke was
4 not raortale / 1our lord god sauyd hym at that tyme ;
howbeit1 he was so sore hurte that he kowd not
remoue for payne that he felt. The good Abbot of
Cluny behelde Gerarde, and saw hym borne to the
8 ground, and peteously wepyng,2 sayde to8 Huon / 'ha,
cosyn, I se yonder your brother Gerarde slayn, the
whiche4 sleyth my6 hert* ' A, ser,' quod6 Huon, 'for Hnon thinks Mm
goddessake counsel me.7 Alas, what shall the duches our
12 mother say when she knowith that my brother is slayne,
who so swetly 8 hath norysshed vs. A, my dere brother
Gerarde / now I se wel your dreme is9 trew. Alas that I
had not belyued you ; yf I hade thys had not fortunyd. 10
16 A, Syr/ quod6 Huon to the Abbot, 'I requere11 you12 and in vain begs
80coure me / f or yf I shulde be slayne I wyll go and *idofUl*Abbot»
wyl demaunde of yonder knyght for 18 what occasyon he
hath slayne my brother, nor I shal neuer retourne tyl14
20 I haue slayn him or he me/ 'A, fayre nephew/ quod6
the Abbote, 'bewarre what ye do / haue no trust to be who is a priest
socouryd by me / for ye knowe well in thys cas / I peace?"1 °
can not ayde you / I am a prest & serue gode ; I may
24 not be where any man ys slayne.' ' Syr/ quod6 Huon,
' of suche companye as yours is we myght well forbcer.'
Then Huon behelde peteouslye 16 the .x. knyghtes that
came with hym fro burdeuxe / And sayde, ' Sy rs, ye He appeals to the
, , , , 1 , \ \ knlghUofhis
28 that are come hether with me / and haue bene escort,
noryashyde in my hous, how say you, wyll ye ayede
me to reuenge y* deth of my brother / & to socoure me
agaynst thys fala mourderers that hath lyene16 in a
1-1 although in sooth verie dangerous, for.
* (overcome with great greefe.) 5 unto.
4 the sight whereof. * poore added. 6 quoth.
7 in this heavie ease added. 6 louingly. 9 too added.
10 happened. 11 desire. 18 to added.
13 Fol. vi. hack, col 1. M untill. u heavily. w lain.
22
HUON OF BURDEUX.
|Ca. ix.
wayte and slayn my brother Gerarde?' 'Syr/ quod1
They gladly lend they,2 4 to dye in the quarell8 we shall4 ayde & socoure
you:8 goo forth & haue no dowt ' / and then they
rode forth with suche smal defence as they had. Thera 4
Huon brochyd6 forth his hors with such fyersnes that
he made the erth to trymble vndere hym / and hys
knyghtes folowyde hym with a hardye courage, deter-
mynyde7 to do walyauntly / when the goode Abbot 8
saw hys nephew depart and hys companye he had grete
petye / he prayed our lorde god to defende them fro
deth. And the Abbot wyth hys companye folowyde
softly after Huon to see what ende ye matere shulde 12
Huon ride* to come vnto. Huon rode so long til 8 he came wher as
UOTBoreiy brother hys brother lay sore woundyd. Then he cryede alowde,
' my ryght dere brother, yf theyr be any lyfe in your
bodye, aunswer me, & shew me how ye fele your selfe.' 16
' Brother/ quod1 Gerarde, ' I am sore woundyde ; I can
not tell yf I may skape a lyue / thynke on your selfe /
yt ys no losse of me / fly ye away yonder ; ye may se
how the woode ys full of armyde men / and they 20
abyde for no thynge but to sley you as they haue
done me.'
wounded.
9% Howe Huon of Burdeuxe was soroufull
when he sawe hys brother Gerarde so sore 24
woundyde / and how he slew Charlotte /
and how he came before the kyng at
Parys and apealyde10 hym of treason.
Capitulo .ix. 28
1 quoth. ■ were we sure added. * yet added.
4 should. * therefore added. 6 spurred.
7 determining. ■ untill. y Fol. vi. back, col. 2.
10 appeached.
Digitized by
Ca. ix.]
HOW HUON FIGHTS WITH OHARLOT.
23
4
Hen Huon vnderstod his brother / he
hade grete petye,1 and sayde how2 he
hade rather dye then to3 departe
wythoute reuengynge of hyw, ' & god
wyl I shall not departe tyl I haue
Huon promises to
avenge the injury,
slayn hym that hath brought you in to thys poynte'4 /
then he sporryd hys hors, and folowyd after Charlote,
8 who was retournynge to the woode to hys companye /
but when Charlote parseyuyde how Huon folowyd
hym / he tournyde hys hors and behelde hym fyerslye.
Then Huon cryed wit// a hye voyse & sayd, ' wassale,5 and challenges
Chariot,
12 who6 art thou that hath7 slayn my brother] wher wert
thou borne 1 ' / Chariot answeryd 8& sayde, ' I was borne
in Almayne, & I am sone to Duke Thyrrey ' / Huon who fai«?iy
declares himielf
beleuyd he had sayd trouth, by cause9 Chariot had a Duke Thierry's
16 dysgysyd shylde bycause he wolde not be knowen / 'a,1 8°n'
quod Huon, ' god gyue the incombraunce ; 10 why hast
thou slayne my brother?' / than Chariot answeryd
fersly,11 and [sayd], 'thy fader Duke Seuyn toke fro me
20 .iii castels, and wolde neuer do me ryght / therfor I haue
slayne thy brother, and in lyke wyse so shal I the/
1F Then Huon in grete yre12 sayd, ' false and vntrew
knyght & morderer, or 13 it be nyght, I shall she we thee
24 thy dolour that thou hast brought me in'14 / than
Chariot sayd, ' beware the of me fore I defy the ' /
Huon, who had but small15 armure, toke hys cloke of Huon prepares to
skerlat & wrappyd it about hys arme, & drewe hys fl*ht*
28 sworde & sporryd his hors, & came agaynst Chariot
with his sword in his hande, and Chariot on the other
parte came agaynst him with his spere in the reste, &
he stroke Huon about the ryght arme, so that the
32 stroke pissyd through the doublenes of his cloke, and
1 was verie sorrowfull. 3 that. 3 omitted. * perill.
6 villaine. 9 what. 7 hast. 8 Fol. vii. col. 1.
9 for. 10 shame for y* fact. 11 boldly.
12 rage. 13 before.
14 quittance this wrong appon thine own head. 16 no.
24
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. ix.
and strikes
Chariot dead
Huon binds up
his brother's
wound,
and sets him on
Chariot's horse.
through his gowne and shyrt, & myst the1 fleshe / thus
Huon scapyd2 that stroke, & thankyd god therof / then
he lyfte vp his sworde with bothe his handys and lette
the brydell of his hors goo, and so with all his myght 4
and vertu he stroke Chariot on the helme in suche
wyse that the serkell nor coyfe8 of stele cowd not
defende hym. But that the sworde went in to his
brayne, and so fell to the erth, and neuer rose after : 8
thus Chariot was slayne myserably / then the traytour
Amaury, beyng in the wode, perseyuyd well how
Chariot was slayn, wher of he thankyd god, & sayde,
' Chariot is deed, god be thankyd / for by that stroke 12
I shall brynge Fraunce in to suche a trouble, that I
shall atayne to all my desyres.' Then Huon, seynge
Chariot deed, retournyd to Gerarde hys brother, lyenge
sty 11 on the 4erthe, brought hym Chariot horse, and 16
demaundyd yf he myght ryde or not / c brother/ quod
Gerarde, 'I thynke yes; yf my wounde were bounde
fast I wolde assay.'
1F Then Huon alyghtyd and toke a pece of his shyrt, 20
and therwith bounde his brothers wouwde / therwith8
Huons knyghtes came to hym, and aydyd6 to set
Gerarde on his hore : but for the payne that he
sufferyd he swounyd7 twyse / then when he came 24
agayne to hym selfe they set hym on an amblynge
palfrey, and a knyght behynd hym to sustayne hym vp
ryght / then he sayde to Huon / 'brother, I requyre8
you let vs departe fro hense without goynge any 28
farther forward; rather let vs retourne to Bourdeux
to the Duches our moder, for I dowght yf we goo
any forther that some grete yll shall come to vs / I
promy8e you yf we be perseyuyd by them that be in 32
the wode, and that they knowe that ye haue slayne
hym that hurt me, I fere me they wyll sle vs al* /
' his.
* escaped. * wikle nor coft.
then. * holpe. 7 swounded.
4 Fol. vii. col. 2.
8 desire.
Digitized by
Ca. ix.] HOW AMAURY FIND8 CHARLOT SLAIN.
25
' brother/ quod Huon, ' by the grace of god I shal not
retourne for f eer of deth / tyll I haue sene ye kyng to He prooeeds to
apele1 hym of treason, when vnder his condught and the emperor of
4 commaundement we be betrayed, and watchyd by ye r^Tth^ituck
waye to murder vs ' / ' brother,' quod Gerard, ' as your wwie^nder^Se
plesour is, so be it* / then they rode forthe the way to 8afeoonduct-
Parys fayre and easly, by cause of Gerard who was sore
8 hurt / then y* knyghtes that were inbushyd2 in the
wode sayd to syr Amaury, ' syr, what shall we doo,
senne8 Chariot is slayne and lyeth in the playne / and
yf we shall goo after them that hath done this dede /
12 it shall be yll done yf they scape4 alyue a way.*
Then syr Amaury answeryd and sayde, ' let them goo,
god curse them, lette vs folowe them aferre of / tyll
they come to Parys / let vs cary with vs the body of Amaury raise*
16 Chariot and brynge it to the kynge / and there ye ^w^owithorae
shall se what I shall saye, and yf ye wyll agree to here SSm^ltoW,
wytnes 8of that I shall say to y* kyng, I shall6 make
you all so ryche that ye shall neuer be power after ' /
20 they answeryd they wolde fulfyll his pleasure / then
they went out of ye wode, and came there as Chariot
lay deed / then they toke hym vp and layde hym
before ye erle Amaury on his horse necke / and so
24 rode forth that, god confounde them,7 / for as moche as
in them lay, they dyd8 to haue Huon iugyd to dethe /
thus they rode the hye waye to parys / & the abbot of Huon with »is
cluney, who was rydyn9 on before, lokyd behynde hym Abbot again.
28 and sawe the .ii. brethren comynge after hym / then he
taryed and demandyd of Huon what aduenture he had
founde / ' syr,' quod he, ' I haue slayne hym that hath He reoounte to
him the
sore hurt my brother / and10 he thought to haue slayn adventure.
32 me / but, thankyd be god, I haue lefte hym ded in the
1 appeach. * ambushed. * see. * escape.
5 Fol. vii. back, col. 1. 6 will.
7 misoheefe & mishap followe them. 8 laboured. 9 ridden*
10 where.
26
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. ix.
place* / 'fayr nephew/ quod the abbot, 'I am sory
therof, but seen1 it is done / yf any plee2 come therby,
promise* to plead ' J J r J
for him to the and tliat ye be excusyd 8 before y* kynge, I shall ayed
you with all my power* / *syr,' quod Huon, 'of that 4
I tlianke you ' / then Huon lokyd behynde hym and
sawe were4 the erle Amaury with all his powre came
fayre & easely after hym / therwith all his blode5
trymbelyd / then he sayd to the abbot / ' syr, what 8
shall I do ? yonder I se them aproche that desyryth6
my deth / they be the same that laye in ye wode
wachynge for vs* / 'fayr nephew/ quod the abbot,
'haue no dough t / for they that come after vs cometh7 12
but a sof t pase ; they make no semblant to ouer take
you / let vs ryde on a good pase, we shall be anone at
Parys ; it is but .ii. myles thether.' Then they rode on,
They mch Parte, and restyd not tyll they came to the paleys, and ther 16
alyghtyd and went vp. Huon helde his brother by the
hande, and the abbot by the other hande / then they
sa we the kynge syttyngo amo?ige his barons / then
Huon salutyd duke Naymes and all the other barons, 20
Huon teiit the and sayde / 8 ' god that for vs dyed on a crosse saue all
barons in the , , , , , , A , , ,
King's presence these noble barons / and 9confounde the kynge whome
he^'pTm^used I se there syttyng9 / for there was neuer harde of a
on them. greter10 treason then the kyng hath purchasyd for11 24
vs / seynge that by his messengers and his letters
patentee he hath sent fore vs to do hym seruyce / the
which cowmaundement we haue12 obbeyed as to our
souerayne lorde / but by false treason & a wayte hath13 28
layde asspyall14 fore vs, and a grete busshement,15 for to
haue murderyd vs by the way / and18 they haue17
1 seeing. a hurt. 8 accused. 4 where.
6 heart. 6 desire. 7 come. 8 Fol. vii. back, col. 2.
9 Health k faire hap to all these noble Lords, but shame
& dishonour to my Lord the King.
10 fowler. 11 practised against. 12 in all dutie.
13 been added. 14 secretly. 15 close ambush. 16 first,
17 omitted.
King.
Ca.x.]
HOW HUON ACCUSES THE EMPEROR.
27
assaylyd my brother here present, and by them was he
brought in to that poynt1 / that they lefte hym for
deed / and he sayde that2 they set on me to haue
4 slayne me / but by ye ayed of oure lord Ihesu Cryste
with my sworde I so defendyd me / that he that
thought to haue slayne vs, I haue slayne hym.'
% How the kynge was sore dyspleasyd with
8 Huon bycause he apeychyd hym of trea-
son / & how Huon shewyd all the maner
why he slewe the knyght that woundyd
his brother. Capitulo .x.
Hen the kynge vnderstode3 Huon he chwietu
sayd, ' wassell,4 beware and thynke well charge brought
what thou sayest here before all my Huon!thimbJ
barons / for neuer of 6 all my lyfe T
16 nother dyde6 nor consent7 any trea-
son / but by the fayeth that I owe to saynt Denys,8 and
by my berde / yf it be so that thou canst not proue this
that thou layest to my charge / I shall cause bothe the
20 and thy 9 brother to dye an yll10 deth' / whan Huon
herd the kyng how he toke his wordes / he stept
forthe and sayd / '0 thou11 kynge, beholde here my
brother, who by the12 is sore hurte and in iuperdy13 of
21 hys lyfe* / and so dyd14 of his brothers gowne and his HuonAowi
Gerard's wound
doublet to his shyrt, and than vpeneth the grete to the coon,
wounde, so that the blode ranne out,15 so that Gerardyn
fell16 in a swoune before the kyng and the barons, for17
28 the grete payne18 that he felt: wherof the emperour
1 into such danger. 2 afterward. 8 had heard.
4 knight. 6 in. 6 did I euer act. 7 give consent to.
8 my maker. 9 Fol. viii. col. 1. 10 euill. 11 Great.
12 thy meanes. 13 ieopardie. 14 did take.
14 abundantly addtd. 16 it enforced G. to fall. 17 through.
18 anguish.
Digitized by
28
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. x.
Charles pities the
Injured youth,
and prorates to
punish him who
has brought him
to such a plight.
had suche pyte1 / that his herte tenderyd2 / than
incontynent8 he sent for his surgens, causyng them to
serche his wounde / than he demaundyd yf they coude
saue his lyfe / and when they hadde well vysytyd4 the 4
wounde, they sayde / ' syr, by the plesure5 of god with
in this moneth he shal be hole & sounde ' / the kyng
was glad of that answere / than he regard yd 6 Huon
and sayde, ' sene thou leyest this deed to my charge / 8
7 by the feyth that I owe to god & to saint Denis /
neuer in my lyfe I thought to do this treason 7 / but by
y* glorious saynt James,8 and by the crowne that I here
on my hede / yf I may knowe who hath done this9 I 12
shall do suche puysyon10 and so grete iustyce that it
shall before euer11 a perpetuall memory 12 / & I shall
do you suche ryght18 that ye shall haue no cause to
complayn* / 'syr/ quod14 Huon, ' I thanke you, for in 16
obbeyynge of your commaundement this myschyf is
fallen to vs. I can not thynke nor knowe that any
tyme of oure lyfe nother I nor16 my brother dyd neuer
wronge nor16 trespace to any creature / syr, at lenght I 20
Huon describes at shall shewe the maner of this dede17 / after that why18
length the manner
of the attack, departyd fro Burdeaux we founde no aduenture / but
whan we came with in a lege of mount leherry / we
met with our vncle, the Abbot of cluney / and so fell in 24
companey with hym / to conducte vs to your court, and
so we rode to gether tyll we came on this syde mount
leherry / than 19 we sawe a lytell wode, and by the
1 took such compassion.
* that he could not choose but much bemone him.
3 And therefore immediately. 4 thorowly searched.
6 help. 6 and beholding.
7-7 thou must thinke, that thou hast touched the royall
reputation of a King & that in such sort, as verie hardly may
the condition of Majestic endure it.
• by my Countreys honour. 9 heynous offenoe added.
10 right. 11 as it shall remaine for. 18 of due honour added,
13 And that yourselves shall report. 14 My Lord, answeared.
16 either . . or.
16
ever ,
or.
17 but thus (by your kingly pacience) the case happened,
w we. 19 Fol. viii. col. 2.
Digitized by
Ca. X.J HOW HUOX RECO0NT8 THE ADVENTURE AT OOUBT. 29
bryghtnen of the sonne we sawe the helmes and
speres and shy Ides of them that were embussbyd in the
wode, and the one came t>ut of y* wode all armyd, his
4 8pere in his harode, and shylde aboute his necke, and
he came softe a1 pace to warde vs / than all we stode
sty 11, and sent my brother to the knyght to know
wether they were spyes or men to kepe ye passage, to
8 y* entent that, yf they demawdyd any trybute, they
shold haue ryght of vs / yf they wolde haue any of
vs / wha» my brother came nere to the knyght he
demandyd what we were / & my brother sayde / how
12 we were the chyldren of the Duke of burdeux, and
where comynge by your commaundement to your court,
to releue our londys and fees of your grace / than the
knyght sayde how we were the same persons that he
16 sought for / and sayd how that a .vii. yere2 passyd that
duke Seuyn our father had taken fro hym .iii. castels /
the whiche was neuer so / than my brother offeryd
hym that if he wolde com to parys before you & your
20 barons he shuld haue ryght done to hym, yf he hadde
any wronge done to hym / than the knyght answeryd
that he wolde not so do / and ther with sodenly
couchyd his spere, and stroke my brother as ye see, he and of Ma
24 beynge vnarmyd, so that he fell to the erthe, wenyng
he had been slayne / and than he rode agayne fayre
and easley towarde the wode. And wha?i I sawe my
brother borne to the erthe, I had suche sorowe at my
28 herte that I coude tarry no longer to be auengyde /
than I demandyd of myne vncle yf he wolde ayed me /
he answeryd and sayd no, because he was a preest, so
he and all his monkes departyd, and lefte me alone /
32 than I toke the .x. knyghtes that came with me out of
my countre / and I rode as faste as I coude to the
entent that he eholde not *skape4 that had sowoundyd
1 a soft. * yeares * Fol. viii. back. col. 1.
• escape.
Digitized by
30 HUON OF BURDBUX. [Ca. X.
my brother / & as sone as he sawe that I folowyd
hym / he retournyd agaynst me / than I demaundyd
of hym what he was / he sayd he perteynyd to Duke
terrey of Ardayn / than I demaundyd why he had 4
slayne my brother ; he answeryd & sayd in lyke wyse
he wold seme me / & therwith he couchyd his spere &
stroke me on ye syde through my gowne & dowblet, &
hurte not my fleshe, as it was the pleasure of god / than 8
I wrappyd my mantell aboute myne arme & I drew out
my sworde, & with bothe my handys as he passyd by
He ieiu how he me I gaue hym such a stroke that I cloue his hede
slew his brother's
wouid-be nere to the tethe / & so he fell downe to ye erthe 12
murderer, deed. I know not what he is / But what soeuer he be,
I haue slayn hym / & yf there be any that wyll
demau?id ryght in this case, let hym in to your royall
court before al your peeres, & I shal do hym reason yf 16
it be founde that I haue done any wronge ; & whan
I had slayne hym, I Jayde my brother on ye deed
knyghte* horse, & ouer toke ye abbot myne vncle / as
I rode I sawe1 behynd me I saw them that where 20
inbusshyd in ye wode come rydyng after, & one knyght
and how his body came before & brought vpon his horse ye sayde deed
bln^to^he knyght. I knowe well, yf they be not come, they
court* wyll soone be here ' / whan kyng Charlemayn vnder- 24
cimries wondera stode Huon / he hadde crete meruayll what knyght it
who the false ' G , ,
knight may be. was that was slayne, and sayd to Huon / 4 knowe for
trough I shall do you reason, for I know none so grete
in my realme, who so euer it be, yf I can proue on hym 28
any poynt of treason, but I shall cause hym to dye an
yll2 deth / for ye mater touchy th me ryght nere, syn3
vnder myne assurance & by my cowniandeine?it ye
r.erard by the are conie hether., Than ye kynge cowmaundyd that 3*
carefully tended. Gerarde sholde be had to a goodly cha?nbre & well
lokyd vnto / ye whiche was done.
1 and looked. 9 euill. 3 seeing.
Digitized by
Ca. xi.] of amaury's return with the dead body OP CHABl.OT. 31
% How Chariot the kynges sone 1 was brought
before hym deed, & of the grete sorow
that he made / & how the erle Amaury
appellyd 2 Huon for the deth of Chariot /
& how the kyng wolde haue runne vpon
Huon / & of the good couwsell that Duke
Naymes of bauyer gaue to the kyng.
Ca. .xi.
, Ow8 Huon Of BlirdeUX & ye abbot Huon and the
of cluney his vncle herd the good king for i.u
wyll of the kynge & the offer that C0WrU*7'
he had made / they knelyd down
to haue kyst his fote, & thankyd
hym of his courtesey / than4 ye
kyng5 toke hym vp. Thaw ye abbot sayd, 'syr, all
16 that my nephew Huora had sayd is trew* / ye ki[n]ge
sayd, * I belyue you wel ' / ye king dyd to them honour,
& feest6 / but he had grete desire to knowe the trough
of this case / & sayd, ' Huon, & ye, abbot of clunei / Charles assert*
20 know for trough 7 I haue a 80ne whome I loue himself proved
, i / i? i i i • i i the traitor his
enteerly / yf ye haue slayne hym in doynge suche a death eiiouid be
velayn8 dede as to breke my assurance, I do pardon rettdlly pwrdo,l'd-
you, so that it be as ye say* / 'syr/ quod Huon, 'of 9
24 that I thanke your grace / & surely ye trough is as I
haue shewyd you ' / then ye kynge sent for Chariot his "e sends for
eone / so he was serchyd for in his logynge / & there
it was sayde how he was departyd out of ye towne ye
28 nyght before / so ye messengers departyd, & whan they
came in to the strete / they sawe where the erle Amaury Bat meanwhile
his body is being
came rydynge with Chariot deed on his horse neck / carried to the
& they herde in stretes lordes, knyghte$, ladyes, & pala°e'
1 Fol. viii. back, col. 2. 2 appeached. 3 when.
4 but. 6 knyg in orig.
9 fessted them in his Pallaice royally. 7 certaintie.
8 villainous. 9 for.
Digitized by
32
HUON OF BURDEOX.
[Ca. XL
The people throng
the streets,
and greet the
cortege with
lamentation.
Chnrles heart the
cry, and
bids Duke
Naymes diacorer
its cause.
But straightway
Amaury brings
the corpse into
the audience
and lays it down
before the King.
Duke Naymes
endeavours to
assuage Charles'
grief.
damasels makyng grete cryes & pytyous complayntea
for Chariot, the kynges sone, whome they sawe deed /
these messengers had grete meruayll1 / at the last they
persayuyd it was for y* loue of the deth of Chariot / 4
than they returayd to the palayes / but by rayson of the
cry2 that the pepull made, 8 the noyse therof 4 cam to
the palayes. Ye kynge Charlemayn herd his sonne
Chariot namyd / than he sayde to duke Naymes / 8
' syr, I haue grete meruayll what noyse is it that is
made in ye towne, & as me thynkyth I here my sonne
Chariot narayd / sertenly my hert gyuyth me that it is
my sone that Huon hath slayne, wherfore I requyre 12
you go & knowe what the matter is.' 8
U Than duke Naymes / departyd, & iucontenent he
incounteryd Chariot borne deed betwene .iiii. knyghte*
vpon a shylde / whan he sawe that, he was ryght 16
8orowfull, so that he coud speke no5 worde / than y*
vnhappy erle Amaury went vp in to ye hall, & came
before ye kynge & all his barons, & ther he leyde
downe Chariot / whan Charles sawe his sonne so 20
slayne / y* doloure & sorow that he made was inport-
able ;e it was pyte to se him / than duke Naymes had as
mych sorow as other,7 seynge the pytufull aduenture,
& also ye sorow8 that his lordes made / than he came 24
to the kynge & sayde / 4 syr,9 coraforte youreelfe in this
mysaduenture / syr, by takyng this dolour10 ye cai
1 were annoyed at these exclamations, but.
8 outcries & pityous moone.
8 From * the noise .... is 1 is thus altered : — with oft
repetition of Chariot's name (all which the Emperour, leaning
at a windowe, confusedly heard) his heart woxed wondrous
heauie, saying, 4Mee thinkes I heare such sorrow as hath not
been usual!, and my Sonne Chariot's name is tossed to & fro in
this outcry; it maketh me feare that it is my Sonne whome
thou hath slain.' Then calling Duke Naymes unto him,
requested him to goe forth 6c resolue him on this matter.
4 Fol. ix. col. 1. 6 one. 8 unspeakable.
T any other. 8 moane. 9 Good my Lord.
10 by ouergreeuing at this ill hap.
Digitized by
Ca. xi.]
OP THE GRIEF AND ANGER OF CHARLEMAGNE.
33
wynne nothyng / nor recouer your chylde agayne / syr,
ye know well that my cousin Ogyer the dane slew my
sonne Bertrand / who bare your message of defyaunce
i to the kyng of Pauey / yet I dyd suffer it without any
grete sorow makyng, by cause I knew well so row coude
not recouer hym agayne* / 'Naymes,' quod the kynge, The King inquires
'I ca;i not forgete this / I haue grete desyre to knowe eon^totT.0^
8 the cause of this dede ' / than duke Nayines sayd to
duke Amaury / 'syr, know you who hath slayne
Chariot, & for what cause ? 1 Than erle amaury stept
forth e, and sayde with a loude woyse1 / 'syr2 kynge Am«ury
denounces Hnon
12 Charlemayn / what3 demaunde you any forther, whan u the murderer,
ye haue hym before you that hath slayn your sonne ? &
that is Huon of Bourdeux, who is syttynge there in
your presence' / whan the kynge herd what the erle
16 Amau4ry had sayd / he lokyd feersly ou Huon, and had chariw would
i ... _ . - 0 , . have rushed upon
8trykynB him with a knyfe,6 & duke Naymes had not Huon but for
ben,7 who blamed the kynge, & sayd, 'a, syr,8 what mtervention!-
thyuke9 you to do this day, to receyue ye chyldren of
20 duke Seuyn in to y[ou]r court, & hath promysed to do
them ryght & reason, & now wold sle them / so may
all 8uche as shall here of y* mater shal10 say that ye
haue sent for them to11 murder & to sle them / and that
24 ye sent your sonne to lye in a wayte for them, to haue
slayne them / syr, 12 by that I se in you / as now ye
maynteyne not youre selfe lyke a man, but rather lyke
a chyldtt12 / syr, demaunde of erle Amaury / the cause
28 why he had forthe Chariot 'your sonne / & why that he
assaylyd y* .ii. brethren ' / ther was present Huon, who
was gretely abasshyd of the kynge13 / who receyuyd Huon feare the
^ * * King in hLi
hym so humbly,14 & now wolde sle hym / he was in wrath.
1 yoyce. 8 Great. 8 why. 4 Fol. ix. col. 2. 6 stroken.
• his Sceptre. 7 but for duke N. 8 Forbeare, my Lord.
9 meane. 10 omitted. 11 to no other end but to.
12—18 By this may be discerned, that you forget the true
Maiestie of a King, & exprease actions unseeming Clmrlemaine.
18 at the Kings furie. 14 first so kindly.
CHARL. ROM. VI. D
34
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. xii.
grete fere / and as raoche as he myght ho drewe backe
fro the kynge / & was abasshyd 1 in that he had slayn
the kynges sonne vnknowyng;2 & than he was sore
troubelyd it was no meruayll, for theyr3 he sawe no 4
man that perteynyd to hym nor4 to ayed hym / nor6
too mayntayne his ryght / but alonely ye good abbot of
cluney, his vncle / who coud gyue him none other ayed
but with his wordes ; thaw he toke on hym corage, & 8
He pleads that he ryght humbly sayd to ye kyng / 1 syr, I requyre your
slew Chariot in
his own defence, grace touch me not / for, syr, know for trough / he that
lyeth ther deed before you / I slew him in my defence /
and knew him not & not knowynge that he was your sonne Chariot / 12
to be the King'a r J '
■on. for, syr, yf I had knowyn him I wolde in no wyse haue
touchyd hym / for, syr, ye may well knowe yf I had
knowyn that it had ben he I wolde not haue com
to you for resyne;6 I wold rather haue fled awaye 16
so farre that no man shulde haue herd any tydynges of
me / &, syr, for goddes sake I requyre you, as hertely
as I caw, to let me haue ryght / I subrayt my body / to
abide the iugement of your noble Peres, 7 and yf it can 20
be prouyd that I slewe Chariot knowynge hym to be
your sone / than, syr, let me haue a shamefull dethe ' /
The barons ask than all the Peeres & barons beynge theyr sayde with
Auiaury for his
account of the sad a hye voyse / how he had spoken resonably, & that yf 24
the erle Amaury wolde any thinge say to the contrary,
it was tyme than to speke and to shewe it.
% How the traytour erle Amauri chargid
Huofl before the eraperour, how that he 28
traytourously with treason prepensyd 8 had
slayne the kynges sonne, & in that quarell
he appellyd Huon to batayll. Ca. .xii.
1 greatly agreeued. 8 not knowing him.
8 And blame him not to be much troubled in mind when.
* omitted. 6 or. 6 rescue. 7 Fol. ix. back, col. 1.
8 pretended.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. XlL] HOW AMAURY TELLS A LYING STORr OF THE MISCHANCE. 35
Hen the kynge had harde Huon speke, The King follows
he beheld duke naymes, & desyred mu\l£*Jme*
him too shewe1 hys aduyse. 'syr/ A^ury**18 1°
quod the duke, * I can seye none other
thynge to you but as I sayd before /
demaunde erle Amaury why he led fourth your sonne
all armid, and kepte the busshement in the woode to set
8 on the .ii. bretheren, or elles what was it that he sought
for there ' / then erle Amaury sayd, ' syr, I shall shewe The false Earl
you the trouthe, & yf I do otherwyse let me dye a a lying Bt017
8hamefull dethe / trewe it is, this nyght passyd, your
1 2 sonne sent for me, desyryng me to ryde with hym an
hawkynge / and I desyred hym to abyde tyll2 the
mornynge / but he sayd that he would nedes go afore
nyght / then I grauntyd to go with hym, so that he
1 C woulde ryde armyd / for I doughtyd the men of Arden,
to the entente that yf we met with eny of them we
myght be able to resyst them ; and so we dyd / thus we how he and
rode out of this towne, and came into a lytell wode, hAwkfe^"^**
20 and there we cast of our hawkys, and theyre we lost one h*wk*
of them, and therwith the same waye came the chyldren
of duke seuyn / and there we sawe Huon, the eldest, who which Huon
is here pr<«ewt, who 3 had taken vp oure hawke / and to restore,
24 your sone came in courteyse manner to hym, and
desyryd hym to rendre agayne his hawke, but the
traytoure would not in no wyse / then Gererde, the
yonger brother, came to your sonne, and they straue so
28 togyther that your sonne strake him ; then Huon, with- and how Huon
thereon struck
out eny word spekynge, lyft vp his swerd, & so chariot down,
petuously 4 slew youre sone / then he & his brother ran
awaye so fast that we coulde not ouer take hym,5
32 wherof we were sory / thus he knewe well your sonne, Amaury
challenges Huon
and he slew hym / and yf he wyll say the contrary, to reassert that he
here is my gage, the which I present here before you / chariot wm.
1 giue. 2 untill. 8 Fol. ix. back, col. 2.
4 villaynously. 6 them.
D 2
Digitized by
Google
36
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xiil
and yf he be soo hardy to lyfte vp my gawge, I shall
make hym confesse it or1 it be nyght that it is trew
that I haue sayd: and this I wyll proue,2 my body
ayenst his.' 4
The Abbot of
Cluny declare*
Amaury to heve
falnely apoken.
Ammary adheres
to bis story.
The Abbot bids
Huon accept the
false Earl's
challenge.
% How the abbot of cluney wold proue that
the sayeng of the erle amaury was fals &
vntrew, & how the erle dyd cast his gauge
ayenst Huon, who toke it vp. Ca. .xiii. 8
> Fter that erle Amauri had endyd his
tale, ye abbot of cluney stept fourthe,
and sayd to the kyng, 'syr, ye
neuer herd so fals a tale before as 12
this traytour Amaury hathe sayd,
for I and .iiii. moo3 of my mounkes,
beynge preestes here p/esente, ar redy to swere & to
make solempne othe that the sayeng of this traytour is 16
false, and therfore there ought no gage to be layde in
y* cause, synse4 there is trew wyttenes of the mater'/
'syr,' quod the kyng, 'the wyttewes is to be beleuyd /
syr Amaury, how say you thertof / 'A, syr,' quod 20
he, ' I wolde be lothe to say agaynst y* abbot, but y*
trough is as I haue sayd / y* abbot may say as it
playse him / but yf Huon be so hardy to deny this that
I haue sayd before you / let him com in to y* felde 24
agaynst me, &, or5 it be nyght, I shall cause him to
6co/?fe?se it openly ' / whan y* abbot harde ///at, he had
grete raeruayll, & beheld Huon, & sayde7 / 'fayr
nephew, ofifer your gage, for the ryght is with y* / for 28
yf than be vanquysshyd in this quarel, yf euer I retourne
in to niyne abbey theyr is no seynt in my churche, but
I shall with a staflfe beat & breke them all to pyces /
1 ere. 3 with added. 3 more. * seeing.
6 before. 3 Fol. x. col. 1.
» be grew offended, & looking stearnly upon H., sayd.
Digitized by
Ca. Xiv.] OF AMAURY'S CHALLENGE TO HUON.
37
for yf god wyll suffer suche a wronge, I shal gyue if hi* nephew
^ suche strokes vpon y* shryne of seynt Peter that I he win break an
shall leue nother gold nor precyous stone hole to- Hdnuinhiir ^
4 gether' / 'syr,' quod Huon / <& god wyll I shall not church*
let to lyft vp his gage, for I shall proue that falsly and Huon take* u\>
. the challenge,
vntrewely / syr Araaury lyeth, as an yll1 & a false .
traytour, & shal make him to confesse that I neuer
8 knew that he that I slewe was y* kynges sonne ' / thaw
y* kyng sayd that Huon muost lay2 hostage / 'syr/
quod Huon, ' ye shall haue my brother ; I can not tfve« his
* brother as
delyuer you any that is so nere me as he is / for here I hostage.
12 haue nother cosyn nor kynsman that wyl lay in hostage
for me ' / ' fayre neuew,' qwod y* abbot, ' say not so /
for I & my monke* wyl be pledges for you, & yf
anythinge shuld fall to you other wyse than wel,
16 which god f orbed, than shame haue kynge Charlemayn,
without he hange on the galous bothe me & all my
monkes.' ' A, syr/3 quod the kynge, ' ye say yll / for
I wold neuer do that* / than sayde the kynge to
20 Amaury / ' sir, lay 4 pledges for your part ' / the traytour
answeryd / 'air, here be .iL of my nephese shall be Amanry offer* his
. two nephews as
pledge for me ' / 'I am content/ quod the kynge, 1 on y* pledges,
condycyon that yf thou be vanquysshyd or dyscomfytyd
24 I shall cause them to dye an yll deth/ than y* pledges
said they wold be no pledges on that condycyon : let
other be pledges who wold : but they sayd yf ye king
wold take them on the lesynge5 of ther londes / they
28 were content / & the kyng graunted them.
% How those .ii. champions came in to the
felde where as they shuld fyght, acowpanyd
with there freadis. Capitulo .xiiii.
1 euffl. a giue. 8 Go to, Abbot.
4 bring in. 6 loosing.
Digitized by
38
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xiv.
Hub as ye herd both parteys delyueryd
dges ; than y* kyng, to be in y* more
rte, put them both in a toure2 tyll
The lists are X^MMJ ye day of y* batayll : than y* feld was 4
prepared forth* fP^MM^ V " * \ ,
duel. >*™^^*S) ordaynyd, for / y* kyng than sware that
his sonne shuld not be buryed tyll he that were van-
quysshyd were hanged, yf he were not slayne in y* felde /
than he commandyd duke Naymes to be redy with an 8
C. knyghte* to kepe y* felde & to se that no treason
shuld be done ; for he sayd he had rather lese3 y* best
Tiie Duke Cyte of his realm e / ' syr,' quod duke Naymes, ' be y*
t™^ment.MaU pleasour4 of god, the mater shall be so orderyd for y* 12
suerte of both partes, that none shal haue wrowg ' / y*
which thinge was done so delygerctly that euery thiwge
The champions was redy / so bothe partes were brought in to the
with their friends " '
repair to cimrch church of our lady in Pans, accompenyd with theyr 16
app^intwuor the frendes, as in suche a case requyryd. with Amaury
gh£ was is next frendea, all issuyd of y* genalogey of
Gawnelon / whan they both had hard masse, they toke
a soppe6 of wyne / than they were rychely armyd & 20
and thence ride to mountyd on good horeses, & so tooke y* way to y*
the Held*
felde / ye stages were redy, & y* kyng & his barons
there redy6 / abydyng for the .ii. champyons / who
came one after another through y* strette* / fyrst came 24
y* erle Amaury, & he rode tyll he came to the felde,
& than he alyghtyd, & salutyd y* kynge & all the
barons / than Huon cam anone after, acompenyd with a
goodly soort / there was7 lenynge in wyndous ladys & 28
damesels a grete nombre, who all prayed our lord Ihu
Cryst to ayed & to defend Huon fro the traytour
The people debate Amaury / the peopell compleynyd / and thought it in
the chances of the ~ ' * r r j j i e>
warriors. possyble that Huon shulde resyst agaynst erle Amaury / 32
by cause Huon was so fay re and yong / but of the
age of foure an twenty yere. But he was so fayre and
1 Fol. x. col. 2. 2 Tower. 3 loose. 4 grace.
6 draught. 6 present. 1 were.
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Ca. XV.] HOW AMAURY AND HTJON PREPARE TO FIGHT. 39
so well made of body that he coude not be amendyd,1
nor none more replete with vertu / there fore he was
sore bemoynd3 both of men and 8 woman that sawe hym
4 passe by / & by cause ye erle Amaury was a byg 4 man
& a valyant, & an expert maw 5 in armes, none stronger
in all the kynges court / he was preuy6 with the
kynge, & welbelouyd / py te it was that 7 he was suche
8 a traytour, for a worse coud not be founde in any
realme / he had grete trust in his owne strenthe / &
lytyll praysyd8 Huon of bourdeux, thynkynge he
shuld not longe endure agaynst hym / but there is a
12 comon prouerbe / the which hath begylyd many a
man : it is sayd that a small rayne abatyth a grete
wynd / for yf our lord Ihu Cryst wyll saue Huon / y*
force & puyssance of erle Amaury shall do Huon but
16 small hurt / for the ryght excellent proffers9 and grete
corage that was in Huon defendyd hym, as ye shall
Here here after.
% How those .ii. champions made theyr
20 othes vpotf the relykes that theyr sayenge
was trewe / & what the kynge sayde.
Capitulo .xv.
Hus Huon [rode] 10 tyll he came in to
ye felde : than he salutyd the kyng &
all the barons ryght humbly / than ho Hnon swears on
, . , 0 ' the rw'ics that he
aprochyd to the relykes, & ther made has spoken truth,
his Boleme othe in the presence of
duke Naymes of Bauyer, who was
keper of the felde, affermyng that neuer in his lyfe he
knewe not that he had slayne Chariot, the kinges
1 no knight so gallant k seemly. 8 beranoyd in the orig.
* Fol. x. back, col. 1. 4 big boned. 6 knight.
• inward. 7 everie one greatly pityed that. 8 regarded.
9 partes. 10 rode u written in the orig.
Digitized by
40
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. XV.
Amanry swears
that Huon speaks
falsely.
Amaury stumbles
when mounting
bis bone.
The champions
enter the lists.
The Emperor
proclaims that
shonM either of
them be slain
before he had
confessed the
truth as to
Chariot'* death,
the survivor
should be
banished and lose
his land.
sowne, &1 all that erle Amaury hath sayd was false &
vntrew, & that he lyed lyke a false traytour, & so
kyssed the relykes / whan Huon had thus made his
othe, erle Amaury stept forthe all afrayde / and s ware 4
how Huons othe was false, and that [he] surely knew
that it wa9 Chariot whan he slewe him, by cause he
claymyd his hawke, y* which Huon had taken vp, &
that he sayd he 2 wold cause hym to confesse or3 it 8
were nyght. whan he had sworne, he thought to haue
retournyd to his horse, &.sturablyd so that he had
nerehand fallen to y* erth. all that saw it toke it for
an yll syne, & iugyd in ther mindes how y* mater was 12
lykely to go yll4 agaynst the erle Amaury. whan
bothe those champyons had made 6 theyr othes, & the
duke Naymes had causyd the felde to be avoydvd /
had set the keepers of the frlde in deu order as it 16
aperteynyd / than the .ii. champyons lept on theyr
horses, theyr speres in theyr handys, & there shy Ides
about theyr neckes / than a crye was made that none
shulde be so hardy to moue or to make any token to 20
any of y* partes vpon payn of deth / after that crye
made ye noble emperour Charlemayn, full of Ire &
dyspleasour, causyd it to be cryed,6 that yf it fortunyd
that the vanquysser sle his enymye in y* feld / or7 he 24
cowfesse y* treason for y* deth of his sonne, that than
y* vanquesser to lese all his londys, & hym selfe to be
bannysshyd out of y* realme of france, & out of y*
empyre of Eome for euer / after that crye made 8 duke 28
Naymes & y* other barons & peeres cam to the kynge
and sayde / 1 A, syr, what wyll ye do ? / this that ye
wolde do 9 is agaynst the statute of the noble realme of
fraunce & of y* empyre of Rome / for often tymes it 32
1 that as he was true knight, k loyall liegeman to the
Emperour, addtd.
2 Fol. x. back, col. 2. 3 ere. 4 euill 3 taken.
6 againe to be proclaimed. T before.
8 proclamation ended. 9 you haue proclaymed.
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Ca. XVi.] HOW THE DUEL BEGIN8. 41
happyth 1 that one of ye champyons is slayne & haue
no puissance 2 to speke 3 / for your grete renowne, the Duke Naymw
whiche so long tyme hath been spred abrode, that it Kinguiwrein
4 shulde be quenshyd or blamysshyd, it shall be sayde u^,u,t*
that you who hath lyuyd in so grete tryumphe 4 all y*
dayes of your lyfe, & now in your latter dayes to
become a5 chylde;' of the which wordes / the kyng
8 toke small ragarde.
% How Huon of burdeux and the erle
Amaury fought together be6fore kyng
Charleman, & how the traytour Amaury
12 was slayne by the noble prowes and
cheualry of Huon. Ca. .xvi.
Han kyng Charlemayn had herd Duke hu baron, make
like complaint,
naimes / he swore by saynt Denys of but chariea wiu
fraunce & by his crowne & berde that ***** notuln«-
it shulde be as he had sayd, nor other
wyse he wolde not do it / than the
noble barons where sory & sore dyspleasyd. and they
20 departyd fro y* kyng, & sayd that by all semylytude7 fro
thens forth ryght sholde haue no place in his court, many
noble prynces & barones murmuryd sore at y* crye8
that was made / those9 .ii. champyons drew a parte, &
24 eche of them feraly regardyd other / than erle Amaury Amaury crt«
, , , • i . ., -rr m i aloud that Huon
spake aloude & sayd / 1 t/iou Huon of burdeux, false ia a &1m traitor.
traytour10 knyght / this day I shall cause the to confesse
thy falsnes / how be it I haue grete pyte of the, I see
28 the so yonge11/ yf12 tfiou wylt confesse this murder
that thou hast done / I shall desyre kynge charlemayn
1 happeneth. * power.
' shall therefore the cooquerour been bo much iniuried?
added.
* dignity. 4 weaker than a. 6 Fol. xi. col. 1.
7 likelyhood. • proclamation. 9 and the.
10 trayterous. 11 in regard of thy youth.
,f therefore.
Digitized by
42
HUON OP BUBDEUX.
[Ca. xvi.
Huon anuren
in mm.
They rath on
one another,
and their horsee
fall.
Tliejr fight on
foot.
Amaury etrlkee
Huoh'b helmet
eo that he nearly
swoons.
to haue mercy1 vpon the* / whan Huon 2herde the
treatour so speke, for anger he blusshyd red & sayde /
' a ! thou false gloton and yll traytour,8 thy venemus
wordys full of bytternes doth no thynge 4 abasshe me / 4
for the good ryght that I am in shall ayed me by the
helpe of our lorde Ihesu Cryst / and I shall so pony she
thy trespace / that this day I shall make the to confesse
thy falsues haue ther of no dought ' / ther with couchyd 8
ther speres & dasht 6 so to ther horses / that it semed
that the thounder had fallen fro heuen / thus with
ther sharpe speres they enconteryd in suche wyse that
ther spers brake to ther handea, so that y* sleuere flew 12
a hye in ye ayer, & in to y* kynges stage / & both ther -
horses fell to the erth / & the knyghts sore astonnyd
with ther fallyng / than venturously6 they releuyd
them with ther swordys in ther handys, & so aprochyd 16
eche to other / and so fought eche with another 7 &
Huons horse strangelyd syr Amaury es horse, & 8 whan
he saw his horse slayne / Amaury stept to Huon for to
haue slayne him / 9 than Huon stept betwene them 9 & 20
lift vp his sword, & gaue ye erle such a stroke that he
was astonnyed therwith, & reculyd 10 backe more than
.ii. pases, & more 11 had he not fallen to ye erth11 / so
that all that sawe them had meruayll of Huons vertu & 24
force, seynge y* grett strenght that was in syr Amaury /
than whan y* erle Amaury felte hym selfe in grete
payne he began to dysspyse the name of god and of the
gloryous vyrgyn mary / how be it, as well as he myght 28
he aprochyd to Huon, and with his sworde gaue Huon
suche a stroke on the helme that all the floures &
precyous stones ther flewe abrode in the felde, and the
eyrcle of the helme all to broken / and the stroke was 32
compassion. * Fol. xi. col. 2. s most disloyall knight
4 at all. * gave such carrier. • very boldly.
7 so long while that. 1 who.
•-• but Huon met him valiantly. 10 staggred.
"-" hardly holding himself from falling to the earth.
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Google
Ca. xvi]
HOW THK CHAMPIONS FIGHT WITH FURY.
so puysaunt that Huon was therwith astonyd, and by
force was fayne to syt1 on one of his knees to the
erthe2/ and he hadde nere almoost fallen to the erthe /
4 & there was present in y* feld lorde* & knyghtes / &
one of y* abbot of 8cluneys syruante* / whan he saw y*
grete stroke that Huon had receyuyd, he departyd out
of y* felde & went in to ye churche, were as he founde
8 his mayster y* abbot in his prayers for y* good spede of The Abbot prays
Huon his nephew / than the varlot sayd,4 4 a, syr,5 pray safety,
hertely to our lorde Iheau Cryste to socoure your
nephew / for I sawe hym fayne to knell upon one of his
12 knees in grete dought of deth'/ than ye good abbot
with out any answer lyfte vp his handys to warde
heuen deuoutly, & wepynge, prayyng to god ayed & to
defende y* honoure of his nephew & to mayntayne his
16 ryght / thus Huon beynge in y* felde in grete doute
of his lyfe, felyng that force 6 of y* erle Amaury / he
callyd with a good herte to our lorde Ihesu Cryste /
requyrynge hym to ayed his ryght, y* whiche he
20 knewe that it was trew 7 / whan erle Amaury sawe
tliat Huon had receiuyd of hym such a heuy stroke, he
sayde, * Huon, I belyue thou wylt not endure longe / Amaury threatens
to slay Huon
better it were that thou confesse ye dede or8 I slee unless he
24 thee, for, or it be nyght, I shall cause thee to waue in wurai murder of
the wynde ' / ' holde thy tounge, thou false traytour/ Charlot
quod Huon ; ' thyne ylnes 9 shall not ayed the / for I Huon defies him,
shall brynge the to that poynt / that all thy frendys
28 shall haue shame of the ' / than Huon auansyd hym,
and made semblant too haue stryken Amaury on the
helme. Than Amaury lyfte vp his shylde to haue
receyuyd y* stroke / but whan Huon sawe that / he and strikes off
J J J 1 ' Amaury'sleft
32 tornyd his stroke to a reuerse, and stroke Amaury arm.
1 fall. 9 the other Legge but weakly supporting him.
• Fol. xi. back, col. 1. 4 to whom the seruant sayd.
1 Ah, my Lord. 8 sturdie strength. 7 to be most true.
9 before, 9 illness.
44
HUON OP BURDETJX.
[Ca. xvi.
▲mauty falssly
appeals to Huon's
Pity,
and oilers him hit
■word.
But when Huon
advances to
takeit*
▲manry dealt
him a fierce blow
whieh mittet ltt
In anjrer Huon
cleaves Amaury*s
head before
heeanoonfeat
his sin.
under the arme with his sharpe sword, so that he stroke
of his arme, the which feJl downe into the felde, shylde
and all.
U whan erle Amaury eawe & felt y* meraelous 4
stroke, & that he had loste his lyfte arme, & sawe it
lay in ye felde, he was full of payne and sorow / &
aduysyd hym selfe of a grete treason. Than he spake to
Huon and sayde / ' a, noble knyght, haue pyte of my, 8
for 1 wrongfully & without cause I haue appellyd you .
of the deth of Chariot, y* kynges sone / but I knowe
y* trought ye knew hym not / but he is dede by my
neymes ; for I brought hym in to the wode for to 12
haue murderyd you and your brother. I am redy
knowlege2 this before the kynge and all his barons,
and to dyscharge you therof / I pray you slee3 my
not; I yelde me to you / take here my sworde'/ than 16
Huon came to hym and put downe hys arme to haue
taken the sworde / but than the false tray tour Amaury
with a reueree stroke / stroke Huon on the arme,
thynkyng to haue stryken it of / but he faylyd. How 20
be it, he gaue hym a grete wounde in the arme, so that
the blode fell downe./ whan Huon sawe his grete4
treason / he sayd, ' 0 thou vntrew & false traytour /
thyne ylnes can no ledger sane the / for thou shalt 24
neuer do trayson more ' / than Huon lyft vp his
sworde / & gaue the erle suche a meruaylous stroke
betwene the helme & the shulder / that he stroke of
his hede clene fro y* body, so that the helme & hede 28
fell one way and y* body another way / alas, what hape
was it to Huon that he dyd not remerobre or he slewe
Amaury ye crye 5 that y* emperour had made before /
for after Huon sufferyd so moche payne & trauayell 6 / 32
1 Fol. xi. back, col. 2. 'to acknowledg.
* kill. 4 horrible. 4 Proclamation.
6 iniurie as might mooue the verie hardest heart to com-
passionate his case, and as you shall more large vnderetand in
the following discourse.
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Ca. xvii.] op huon's victory and charles' anger. 45
lthat theyr is no clerke can wry ten it nor bryng it in
to memorey / and so Huon slewe the erle Amaury.1
% How2 that8 after the emperour Charlemayn
4 had seen the erle Amaury 4 slayn, he com-
mandyd expresly that Huon shoulde avoyde
the realme and empyre and to be banny. hyd
for euer. Capitulo .x\ ii.
Hen that duke Naymes who kept the
felde / sawe how by Huon the erle was
slayne he was ryght ioyfull / and came
to Huon and demauwdyd how he dyde /
*syr,' quod he, 'thankyd be god I
fele no dolour nor grefe ' / then they brought hym to Huon is brought
the palayes to the kyng, whoo was departed out of M°n Kiag'
the felde, when he saw ye erle slayne and was therof
16 ryght sorowfull / then he demaundyd of Huon and of Charles asks if
_ , A Amaury confessed
the duke Nayraes yf they had herde y' 6 erle Amaury his sin,
confesse the treason that he had layde to Huon for the
deed 7 of Chariot his sone / 4 syr/ 8 quod ye Duke, 4 1
20 thynke he dyd confesse it / but I herde it not / for
Huon pressyd so sore on hym that he had no leyser to
do it' / then Charlemayn sayde / 'a, erle Amaury, and when he
I knowe certenly thou dydest neuer that treason, nor h^,hisfttn°n*
24 neuer thought it / wherfore thou art slayne wrongfully oonteMlon»
and with out cause / for ther was neuer a trewer
knyght than thou wert / for9 I am sure yf thou
haddest done it thou woldest haue confessyd it before
28 me' / then the kyng sayd to 10 Huon, ' I charge the he bids Huon
incontenent to avoyde my realme / out of the whiche I r«Sm!
bannysche the for euer / nor thou shalt neuer enioy hbdia^is!nd6C
one fote of lounde in Bourdeux nor in Aquitanie / and
!— 1 omitted in Lord Bernera. * after. 9 the. 4 was.
* Fol xii. col. 1. • omitted. 1 death. • My Lord.
• and. 10 ynto.
Digitized by
46
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xvii.
also I defende 1 the that thou neuer be so hardy to go
to Bourdeux / for by my 2lorde saynt Denis,2 yf I
knowe that thou goest thether I shall make the to dye
an yll deth / nor ther is no man lyuynge, though he be 4
neuer so nere8 frend to 4 me,8 yf he make any request
for the I shall neuer loue hym / nor he shall neuer
ChsrifaTavt C°me *° 6 ' I *^en **UOn ^yd, 7 ' 8yr,
mercy upon him, how is it ? 7 8 haue I not done my deuore / sene before 8
you & all your barons I haue dyscomfytyd in playn
batayll he that hath brought you in to all this trouble ? /
9syr, sertenly yf ye do to me as ye say, I shall
complayne me to god / for neuer more wronge was 12
done to any noble man / yll ye remembre y* good
smiyce8 that the noble duke Seuyn my father hath
^ ^«nonnc« hit done to 10 you / so that by11 this ye shewe grete
ensawple to all your noble barones and knyghtes for 16
them to be well aduysyd how fro hense forthe they
shuld order the?n self, & how to truste in you, when
that by your owne aloneley12 opinion, foundyd vpon all
yll13 grounde / & agaynst all statutes royal & emperall, 20
wold execute your owne vnresonable wyll / sertenly yf
it wher another 14 prynce besyde you that wolde do me
thw grete wronge, or I wolde consent so to be delt with
all / many a castell and many a good towne shuld be 24
distroied & brought to ruyn, & many pour men
dystroyed 15 and dysherytyd, & many a knyght brought
to dethe.'
1 forbid. *— 2 honour k crowne. 3 a.
4 yd to. 6 but. 6 to omitted.
7— 7 Alas, my Lord, what justice is this?
8- 3 haue I done any more then knighthood bound me
too? haue not you and your Barons seene him discomfited in
playne Battaile that hath brought you unto all this trouble ?
vndoubtedly, my Lord, if you doe to me as you say, God in
heauen be my witnes that neuer more wrong was done to any
noble man. This is but bad remembrance of the good
seruice. • Fol. xii. col. 2. 10 vnto. 11 for.
u obstinate. 13 euill. 14 any other.
16 more impouerished.
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Ca. xvii.] op charles' treatment op huon.
47
f when Huon had thus spoken to y* kyng / duke Duke Naymes
Naymes stept forthe and sayd to the kynge / 'syr,1 Huon.
what thynke 2 you to do ? / ye haue seen that Huon had
4 done his deuore 3 / 4 when he hath brought his enemy
to vttranse, and slayne hym4 / ye may well thynke
that it was the worke of god when suche a chylde
shuld brynge to vttrance 6 & dysco/ifyt suche a pusant
8 knyght as was ye erle Amaury. Syr,6 yf ye do as ye
haue sayde / 7 1 nor neuer any7 other man shall 8
truste you / 9& euery man shall say fare & nere that
herof thys extorsyon,9 that in the ende of your dayes
12 ye are become chyldysche,10 & more lyke a sot11 then a
wyse man/12 then Huon desyryd all y* barons that
were ther present that they wold all requyre y* kyng to
haue mercy13 of hym, seen they were all bounde so to
16 do in that he was one of the peeres of the realme /
then all the prynces and barons, holdynge Huon by Thebarom
ye hande, knelyd down before ye kynge / than Huon in hu behalf,
sayd / 14 ' syr, sene your grace to hate me so sore as ye
20 speke of / I requyre you at y* 15 request her of all your Huon begs
barons / that ye wyl graunt me that I may abyde hiin^iw«iornU
in myne owne countree for euer, and neuer to com feurdeaux.
in your syght, and in this I requyre your grace of
24 mercy.'14
1 My Lord. 2 meane. 3 no more then his dutie.
*-* hauing brought his enemy to confusion, and elayn him.
6 shame. 6 Therefore, my Lord.
7— 1 neither I nor any. 8 euer.
• but euery one farre & neere that shall heare of this
cruel tie, will report
10 sencelesse. 11 Tyrant.
12 Prince. 13 more respect
14— 14 Seeing it is so, my Lord, that your displeasure is such
againste me as you haue expressed, Let your Barons and my
gelfe obtaine but this fauour at your handes, that I may be
confined to my owne natiue Countrey for euer, there to lead a
poore & priuate life, neuer to be admitted to your presence
againe, & for this grace we shall all right humbly thanke you.
15 Foi. xii. back, col. 1.
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48
HUON OP BURDEUX
[Ca. xviii.
% How kynge Charlemayne sent Huon to
do a message in babylon to the admyrall
gaudyse. Capitulo .xviii.
CharlM ii
obdurate.
Duke Naymet
protests against
his unjust
sentence.
Hen the emperour hade herd Huon 4
speke, he sayde incontynent, 'auoyd
out of my syght / for when I remewibre
my 8one Chariot whome thou haste
alayne, I haue no member1 on me but 8
that2 trymbeleth for the dysplesour that I haue to the /
& I charge all my barons here present that they neuer
speke to me more for the '/ when duke Naymes herde •
ye kynge say so, he sayde to all the barons / ' syrs,3 ye 12
that be here present & haue well herde the grete
vnresonablenes that the kynge do4 too one of oure
peres / the whyche, as ye knowe well, it is agaynst
ryght and reason / and a thynge not to be sufferyd. 16
But that by cause we kuowe serteyuly the kynge is
our souerayn lord, we muste suffer his plesour. But
fro hense forthe / sens he wyl vse hym selfe and to do
thynges agaynst reason and honour, I wyll neuer abyde 20
an oure lenger with hym / but I6 wyll departe and
neuer retourue agayne in to y* place wher as suche
extorsyon6 and vnresonableness is vsed / I wyll go
in to my countre of Bauier / and lette the kynge do fro 24
He and the barons hense forth as he lyst.' Than all the barons departyd
leave his presence
in anger. with the duke fro the kynge without spekynge any7
worde, & so lefte the kynge alone in hys palayes /
when the kynge sawe the 8 duke depart and hys other 28
lordys / he was ryght sorowful and in greate dis-
pleasure / and sayd to the yonge knyghtes that were
left about hym / how that he ought 9greately to be
anoyed for9 ye deth of hys sone, who was slayne so 32
1 parte. 2 it 8 My Lords. 4 offers. 6 I omitted,
• extremitie. 7 (one). 8 Fol. xii. back, ool. 2.
8-9 in nature to take heauylie.
Digitized by
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Ca. xviii.] how huon is sent to babtlon.
49
peteously,1 / and also2 to se how hys barons had
ahandonyd hym and left hym alone / 8 than he sayde
openly / ' I se well I am8 forsyd sum what to folow chariea declares
r J 1 J himself forced
4 theyr wylles ' / and ther with he wept peteously / and to relent,
incontynent marchyd4 forth and folowed them, &
sayd, ' duke Naymes and all ye my barons, I requyre
you* retourne agayne, for of force I most graunt your and recalls the
barons.
8 desyres6 / though it be agaynst that promys that I
made before '/ then the duke and all other7 retournyd
to the palayes with the kynge / who sat downe on a
benche of gold, & hys barons abowt hym. Than he
12 sent for Huon, who knelyd downe before the kynge, He bide Huon
requyryng hym humbly of mercy and petye ; than8 the *pp^0•chhim,
kynge sayde / 'Huon, sen thou woldest be agreed9
with me, 10 Then it must behoue the to do that I
16 commaunde and orden.'10 11 'Syr/ quod Huon, 'to obey
you there is no thynge in this mortall worlde than any
humayn body may do, But that I shall vndertake to
do it / not lettynge for fere of any deth, though it be
20 to go to the dry tre / ye, or to hell gattes to fyght witt
the fendes there, as sum tyme dyd Hercules,11 yf I may
therby be agreed with12 your grace.' ' Huon,' quod
the kynge, ' I thynke to sende the in to a worse place, and order* him
- _ to depart on a
24 for of .xv. messengers that I haue sent, ther was neuer perilous mission
none retournyd agayne / I shal shew thee whether thou *° BabyIon*
shalt go / sen13 thou wylt that I shall haue mercy of
1 disloyally. 2 and could not likewise but greeue.
8— 3 therefore there is no remedy, but I must be.
4 went. 6 (to). fl requests.
T the rest 8 to whom. 9 at peace.
*°— 10 it is requisite that thou performe whatsoever I
enioyne thee.
ii— ii Else, my Lord (said Huon), god forbid, there is no
man in the world owes you more obedience than I doe, or shall
more gladly vndertake whatsoeuer your highnesse shall please
to command me, dreadlesse of death or any danger, be it goe
to Hell gates, to fight with the fiendes there, as sometime did
Hercules.
u reconciled to. 13 seeing.
OHABL. ROM. VI. E
Digitized by
60
HUON OF BURDBUX.
[O
a. xvui.
He is to
enter the palace
of Admiral
Gaudys,
kill the chief
lord present,
and thrice kiss
the Admiral'!
daughter
Eeclarmonde.
Huon Is to
bring home
for Charles
hawks, bean,
youths,
and maidens,
together with
a handful of
hair from the
Admiral's beard,
and four of bis
thee, thou must go to the cyte of Babylone / to the
admyrall Gaudys / and shew hym1 / as I shal declare8
to thee I and8 be ware on payne of thy lyfe that thou
fayle not to do it / whan thou cummyst there, mount 4
vp in to hys palays / and there tary tyll he be at hys
dyner, 4 and whan thou seest hym sytte at the table,
thaw thou to be armyde with thy sworde nakyd in thy
hande / and loke the6 gretest lord that thou seest 8
sytte at his table, whether he be kynge or admyrall /
thou most stryke of hys hede / and after that 8 do
so myche as to fyaunce and to kys thre tymes the
fayre Esclarmonde,dowghter to the Admyrall Gaudysse,6 12
openly in his presence / and before all other there
present / for I 7wyll thou knowyst7 she is the fayrest
mayde that is now lyuynge / 8 and after that8 thou
shalte say to the admirall Gaudyse that I coramaunde 16
hym to sende me a .M. hawks, a .M. berers, and a .M.
wayters all cheynede, and a .M. yonge varlettea / and a
•M. of the fayrest may dens in his real me. And also
thou to brynge me thy handfull of the here of hys 20
herde / and .iiii. of hys grettest teth.' 'A, Syr/9
quod the barons, 'We se well ye desyre gretely hys
deth whan ye charge hym wythe suche a message.'
• That is trewe,' quod the kynge, ' for without I haue his 24
berde & hys grete teth 10 without tromperey or couyn,19
Lette hym neuer retourne in to Fraunce, nor come in to
my presence / for and11 he do he shal be hangyd and
drawyn.' ' Syr,'12 quod Huon, ' haue ye shewyd me all 28
your pleasure?' 'Ye/ quod the kynge, 'my wyll is
as I haue sayde, yf thou wylt haue peace with me.'
1 there doe. 8 appoint 8 but.
* Fol. xiii. col. 1. 4 the verie.
enquire for faire Escleremond, daughter to the Admirall,
and kisse her there.
T_ T giue the to vnderstand. 8-8 this being done.
9 Alas, my Lord. l°— 10 brought me bether unfaynedly.
" if. " My Lord.
Digitized by
Ca. xix.] of the king's chargf and huon's departure. 51
'Syr/1 quod Huon, 'by y* grace of god I shall Huon accepts the
fournyshe your message / the fere of dethe shall not and preparet to
lette me to do it.' ' Huon/ quod the kynge, 1 yf god °ut*
4 of his grace wyll suffer the to retourne agayne in to
Fraunce, I charge the be not so hardy to come to
Bourdeux nor to no2 parte of thy cou/itre tyll thou
hast spoken with me / yf I fynde the doynge contrare /
8 I shall cause the to dye an yll dethe. And vpon this I
wyll thou layest vnto me good hostages.' ' Syr/8 quod
Huon, 'here be x. knyghtes whom I shall leue with
you for suerte, to the entent that ye shalbe con4tent with
12 me / howbeit, syr,6 I requyre your grace to suffer the
knyghtes that came with me fro Burdeux to go with
me to the holy sepulcre.' ' I am content/ quod y* chariet permiu
kynge, 'that they go with ye to the red see/6 'Syr/7 Bordeaux
16 quod Huon, ' I thanke your grace/ Than Huon made togowith him-
hym redy to fournyshe his vyage.
% Howe Huon of Burdeux toke leue of the
kynge & of the barons, and rode withe the
20 good abbote to Cluny. Capitulo .xix.
Fter that 8Charlemayne hade gyuen
Huon ye charge of hys message, the
kynge called be fore hym Gerardyne, Gemrd u
24 y^\BJ!£§j| brother to Huon, & delyuered to hym the^rTofr,th
the gouernance of all his brothers hu<abli<! *
londea in his absence tyll his retourne.
And thus whan Huon was redy he came to y* kyng
28 and to the barons / to take his leue, and the Abbot of The Abbot of
„ _ _ , , ,A _ , „ . . . Clany, with other
Cluny9 sayde he wolde go with hym parte of Jus way / ladiea and
&10 .xii of the gretest pryn1^ and ladyes conuayed, ^"i^pkijSJ
Hnonalittie
way on hta road.
1 My 8oueraigne Lord. * any. 8 My Lord.
* Fol. xiii. col. 2. 6 my Lord. 8 thether or else where.
7 My Lord. 8 king. 9 who.
10 bo likewise did. 11 Fol. xiii. back, col. 1.
E 2
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52
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xix.
At Troyes
all but the Abbot
bid him farewell,
and return.
At Cluny the
Abbot leaves him.
Gerard weeks
to obtnin from
Charles the rank
of peer of
France.
Duke Nsymee
begi the Emperor
to refuse the
request.
Gerard goes to
Bourdeaux,
and te'.ls hi*
mother what hat
pa*«ed.
a1 .ii. 2dayes iournay; and whan they came to the
towne of Troye in Champayne / duke Naymes toke
leue of his cosyn Huon, and gaue hyin a sominer
charged with gold, and kyssed hym at theyr departyuge / i
then gerard his brother toke his leue, & also kyssed
hym / but knowe for trought the kysse that he gaue
hym was lyke to the kysse that Judas gaue to 3 our
lorde god3 / the whiche was derely bought, as ye shall 8
here after / thus duke Naymes and gerard departyd
and toke theyr way to Parys / &4 the abbot and Huon
restyd not tyll thy came to the abbey of cluney, wher
as they were receyuyd with grete ioye and well feestyd / 12
than the nexte mornynge / Huon departyd, and toke
leue of his vncle sore wepynge, desyrynge hym 6 that
he might be reco?wmendyd5 to his mother the duches,
and to gerard his brother, the abbot promysyd so to 16
do, and gaue Huon his nephew a mulet chargyd with
money coraunt in fraunce / thus he departyd and toke
the way to rome. Now leue we to speke of Huon, and
shewe of duke Naymes and Gerard, who retornyd 20
to Parys. than6 gerard requyryd the kynge that it
wolde playse hym to res lyue his homage for the lond<?$
of bourdeux, to the entent that he myght be auancyd,
and to be in ye state of one of ye peeres of fraunce / 24
the whiche thynge duke Naymes wolde not consent
vnto nor agre to it / but sayd to the kynge, ' syr,7 ye
ought not to suffer that Huon shuld be dysherytyd ' /
wher of gerarde was not content / but duke Naymes 28
set lytell therby / for he beleuyd Huon inteerly /
so this homage was delayed / than gerarde retournyd
to bourdeux / where as he was well receyuyd. 8\vhau
the Duches sawe hym and not Huon to retourne, she 32
was sorowfull in her harte / than she de maundy d of
1 accompany him for. 2 Fol. xiii. back, col. 2.
3-3 his Mainter. 4 but. 6—6 to recommend. 6 where.
7 Mv Lord. • but.
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Ca. XX.] HOW HIS MOTHER FALLS SICK AND DIES.
53
Gerard why that Huon his brother was 1not retournyd
with hym / than Gerarde shewyd her all the hole
mater and aduenture / and of the departynge of Huon,
4 and of the maner of hys vyage / wherof the Duches
had suche sorow / that she fell syke, and so lay .xxix.
dayes, and on the .xxx. day she dyed, and renderyd vp
her soule to god, wherof all the countre was sorowfull.
8 Gerard nobly buryed her in the Churche of saynt
Seueryne by the duke her husbonde / Anon2 after
maryed hym to the doughter of duke Gylberde of
Cecyll / who was the gretest traytour and moost
12 ere well that myght be harde of / Anon2 & Gerard his
sone in lawe lernyd his wayes and folowyd his
condycyon / for he delte so yll with the towne of
bourdeux & with the countre about, that pyte it was to
16 here the poore people / and wepte3 for the losse of
duke Seuyn and of the Duches / and prayed to god
for y* good retoume of there lorde Huon / Now we
shall leue to speke of them, and speke of 4 Huon.
20 How Huon of bourdeux came to Rome, &
was confessyd of the pope, who was his
vncle ; & of his departynge, & how he
came to brandys, wher he fou^de his vncle
24 Garyn of saint Oraers, who fore loue of
Huon passyd the see with hym.
Capitulo .xx.
Ere before ye5 herde how Huon
28 II A~/iVfiA /Mil departyd fro his vncle, the abbot
of Cluney / so longe he rode with
The dncheM fall*
sick on learning
Huon's fate,
and thirty days
later dies.
Gerard weds the
daughter of the
traitorous Duke
Gylberde of
Cecyll.
32 II
ftp
his knyghtes that he came to the Huon reaches
JS Rome.
Cyte of Home / and there he was
logyd in a good hostrey / than Huon
1 Fol. xiiii. col. 1. 2 Anion in orig. 3 To weep.
4 returne vnto. 6 howe.
Digitized by
54
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca.xx.
Huon salutes
the Pope,
who was hie
mother's brother.
Heoonfbeeee
to him.
absolution.
The Pope
entertains Huon,
rose in the mornynge, accompanyd with Guychard, whom
he well louyd, and with the other knyghtes that 1carae
thether with hym, and went to the churche of saynt
Peter and herde masse,2 & whaw ye mas3 was done the 4
pope cam out of his oretorey / than Huon cam to hym
and humbly salutyd hym / the pope behelde him, and
demaundyd what he was / ' syr,' quod he, ' my father
was Duke Seuyn of bourdeux, who is dece8syd., than 8
the pope stept to hym & embrasyd hym, and sayd,
* fayr nephew, ye are welcome / I praye you shewe me
how dothe my syster the Duches, your mother, and
what aduenture hath brought you nether* / 'syr,' 12
quod he, 4 1 reqnyre your holynes that ye wyll here my
cottfessyon a parte / for I haue grete nede therof.'
' fayr nephew/ quod the pope, ' it pleasyth me ryght
well to here you.' than the pope toke hym by the 16
hande and went with hym in to his oretory, and ther
Huon shewyd hym all the aduenture that he had syns
he cam fro bourdeux, and of the vyage that Charlemayne
had set hym to do and to saye to the admirall Gaudyse / 20
4 whan he had all shewyd4 / he requiryd ipardon and
penaunce for his synnes / the pope sayd he wolde
gyue6 hym none other6 penaunce but7 that kyng8
Charles had gyuyn hym9 / the which was so grete 24
that none humayn body coude suffer it, nor durst
thynke10 to do it / than the pope gaue hym absolucyon
of all his synnes / 11 than the pope11 lede hym in to his
palayes, where he was honorable receyued with grete 28
ioy / after they had dynyd and deuysyd too gether a
grete space, the pope sayde to Huon / ' fayr nephew,
the way that ye muste go is to go to the porte of
brandys, there shall ye fynde my brother Garyn of 32
1 Fol. xiiii. col. 2. * aeruice. * seruice.
4— 4 all which being declared and done. * assigne.
8 no. 7 for. 8 the Emperour. 8 done that alreadie.
10 vndertake. li— u and louingly.
Digitized by
Ca. XX.] HOW THE POPE RECEIVES HUON AT ROME.
55
saynt Omers, who is your vncle / to whome I shall and g\r- him
wryte a letter to the entent that he shall haue knowlege introduction to
of you, for I knowe well he shall haue grete ioy of ^rjTof saint
4 you / he hathe the kepynge of the Oryentall see / he 0mer'
shall adresse you, and delyuer you shype or galee suche
as shall be nesses1sary for you* / 2 'holy father/ quod
Huon,3 ' of this I thanke you ' / 4 well/ quod the pope,
8 'this nyght ye shall abyde here with me.' 'syr,' quod
he, 4 1 requyre you let me departe / for gretely I desyre
to se myn vncle Garyn ' / whan the pope sawe that he
wolde nedys departe, he delyueryd hym his letter, and
12 sayd, 'fayr nephew, salute fro me my brother Garyn
your vncle 1 / 4 syr/ quod he, * I shall do your com-
maundement ' / than the pope gaue to Huon grete and
ryche presentes, and to all them that were with hym /
16 than he kyssyd his nephew at his departyng / Huon
toke leue of hym all wepyoge / and so departyd, and
enteryd in to the Kyuer of Tybre in a ryche shype, the Huon puw
whiche the pope had well garnysshyd for hym.
20 H Thus he had good wynde / so that anon they
aryuyd at brandys / but whyles he was on the water he
wepte sore, and pyteously compleynyd in that he was
so departyd out of his countre / than his men comfortyd Hit knights
24 hym, and shewed hym many fayre ensamples to confort h^a^^on.*0
hym / * syr/ quod Guychard, * leue your sorow / for
makyng of sorow4 can not auayle you / ye must put
all to the mercy of our lorde god, who neuer forgettyh
28 them that louyth hym / shew your selfe a man and no
chylde / to the entent that we that be with you may be
reioysyd / for the sorowe that we se you in dothe sore
trouble vs ' / 4 syr/ quod Huon / * syn it is so I shall
32 folowe your wyll* / thus they aryuyd at the porte of Ther arrive at
. _ , . the port of
Brandys. Tlian they issuyd out of ther shyppe / Brandys.
and toke out ther horses, & theyre thy sawe Garyn
1 Fol. xiiii. back, col. 1. 2 Most. 8 Huun in orig.
4 greefe and sadness.
56
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xx.
They meet syttynge before the porte in a loge, well and rychely
Garyn.
hangyd in a ryche1 chayre / whan Huon sawe hym
syttynge he salutyd hym / thynkynge that he was
lorde of that countre / than Garyn behelde Huon and 4
began to wepe, and sayd / ' syr, it pertey2nyth not to
me that ye sholde do me so greate honcur as ye do /
for by that I se in you I am constreynyd to wepe /
Huon'i fa* bycause ye resemble so myche to a prynce of the realme 8
recalls to Garyn Z -
memories of of Frau/ice called duke Seuyn, who was lord of the
father. cyte of Burdeux / the grete loue that 8 1 haue hade to8
hym causyd me to wepe / I requyre you tell me where
ye were borne, and who be your parentes and frendes / 12
for duke Seuyn hade4 weddyd my syster, ye duches
Aclis.' ' Syr,' quod Huon / * sen ye wyll knowe what
I am, I may well sheu it to you, for the duke was my
father / and ye duches Aclis was5 my mother / we be6 16
two bretherne. I am the eldest, and the younger ys
styll at Burdeux to kepe the7 londe* / whan Guaryn
vndcrstode that Huon was sone to duke Seuyn of
Garyn !• greatly Burdeux / the ioy that he had 8 can not be estemyd8 / 20
pleased at Huon's ' * , ,
arrirai, than he embrassyd Huon all wepynge, & sayde, ' ryght
dere neuew, your commyge is to me the greatest ioy
in thys worlde.' he knelyd downe and wolde haue
kyssyd Huons fete, But Huon releuyd hym incon- 24
tynent. The ioy that was betwene them two was so
greate that all that sawe it hade meruayll therofc
and asks the Than Guaryn demaundyd of Huon and sayde, ' fayre
reason of his
journey, neuew, what aduenture hath brought you in to these 28
which Huon tells partes?1 Than Huon / shewyd hym fro poynt to poynt
all his besynes / & the cause why he was enteryde in
to that enterpryse. whan Guaryn had harde all he
begane to wepe / and yet, to comfort hys neuew, he 32
sayd / * fayre neuew, where as lyeth grete parelles /
1 goodly. * Fol. xiiii. back, col. 2. 3 euer I bare vnto.
4 hade omitted, 6 is. 8 are. 7 our.
8 could not be expressed.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. XX.] HOW HE VISITS GARYN OP 8AINT OMER.
57
there lieth grete honour, god ayde you to eschew & to
fornyshe thys greate hesynea / all is possyble to god
and to man by meanes of hys grace. A man ought
4 neuer to be abasshyd / for worldely maters.' Than
Huon delyueryd his letters to hys vncle Guaryn / who Huon presents the
gladely reseyuyd them / and red the contynew therof
at length. Than he sayde, 'fay re neuew / there *nede
8 none other recommendasion but ye syght of your
prese/zce / for it apery th wel by your chere2 that ye be
the same person that oure holy father maketh mensyon
of / suerly your commynge semyth to me fayre and
12 good / & ye be aryuyd at a good port / for I promyse
you faythfully I loue well my wyfe and my chyldrene.
But the grete loue that I haue to you for the loue of
your father duke Seuyn and the duches your mother,
16 who was rayne owne dere syster / I abandon all that I Garyn promises
* , i , . i hewUlgivesil
haue to serue you and kepe you company, both with sid to Huon.
my body and all that I haue. know for trouht I
haue thre good galees & thre grete sliyppes well
20 furnyshyd of euery thyng for the warre, y* whiche I
shall lede with you / for as longe as lyfe abydeth in my
body I shall not abandon you, But I shall ayde you
in all your enterpryses.' 'Fayre vncle/ quod Huon,
24 4 of the grete courtesy e that ye offer mo 1 8 thanke
you 9 I than Guaryn toke Huon by the hand and lede He leads Huon
home to his
hym in to his castell / where as he was rychely c**tie,
reseyuyd / Gauryns wyfe and .iiii. of hyr sonnes /
28 came to Huon, and he full courteously kyssyd the lady
and hyr .iiii chyldrene, hys cosyns. greate ioy was
made there in the hall, and the tabyles sette to suppar.
than Gauryn called the lady his wyfe and sayde /
32 ' dame,4 thys yonge man5 that ye se here is my neuew, and introduce*
' J J 6 J him to hi. wife.
and cosyn to your chyldren, who is come hether for
refuge to haue counsell and ayde of me in a vyage &
1 Fol. xv. col. 1. * countenance. 8 can but.
4 Madame. 6 knight
Digitized by
58
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxi.
Garyn resolves
to accompany
Huoti,
and has a ship
made ready.
They embark,
enterpryse that he hathe to do / and by the grace
of god I shall go with hym to ayde and to condute
hym, wherfore I pray and commaund that ye take in
rule all my affayres and kepe your chyldren.' * Syr,1 4
quod she, ' sen it is your pleasure thus to do, & that
ye wyll go with hym / your 1 pleasure shalbe now,1
howbeit I had rather ye abode then went.' this she
spake sore wepynge / the next day in the mornynge 8
Guaryn, who hade grete wyll to serue and to please hys
neuew / he ordened a grete shyppe to be made redy,
wel furnyshyd with bysket / wynes and flesshe, and all
other maner of vytaylles / and with monysyons of 12
warre as it apertaynyd, and put therin theyr horses
and armure / golde and syluer / and other ryches
necessary for them / then they toke leue of the lady,
and so left hyr sore wepynge / thus Garyn & Huon 16
enteryd in to theyr shype, and all theyr company /
they were .xiiL knyghtes and .ii. varlette* / to serue
thorn I they wolde haue no greter nombre.
and set sail.
Th«»v land afc
Jaffla.
2 % How Huon of Burdeux departyd fro 20
Brandys, and garyn hys vncle with hym,
and how he cam to Jerusalem, and fro
thase in to the desertes, where as he found
Geraraes, and of theyr deuyses.3 24
Capitulo .xxi.
Han Huon & Garyn were enteryd in
to theyr shyppe, they lyft vp theyr
sailes & sayled nyght and day, so that 28
they aryuyd sauely at the port of
Jaffe ; than they tooke lond4 and drew
out theyr horses, and rode forth; so the same day
they came to Kames / & the nexte day to ye Cyte
i-1 will let be fulfilled.
8 conference.
8 Fol. xv. col. 2.
4 lauding.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxL] op huon's arrival in the holt land. 59
of Ieruaalem / that nygbt they restyd / and the Theytrsveito
Jerusalem,
nexte day they dyd theyr pylgrymage to the holy
eepulcure / and there deuotly hard masse1 and ofFeryd
4 accordynge to theyr deuosyon / whan Huon came
before the holy sepulcure he knelyde downe on hys and worships!
hare knees, & all wepynge made hys prayers to our sepulchre,
lorde god, requyrynge hym to ayde and comfort hym in
8 hys vyage / so that he might retourne agayne in to
fraunce, and to haue peace with kynge Charleraayne.
And when they al had made there prayers and offeryd /
Haon and Garyn went into a lytyll chapell vpon the
12 mount of Caluery, where as now lyeth Godfrey of
Boillon / and Baudwyn hys brother. Than Huon
called to hym al those that came with hym out of
Fraunce, and sayd, 1 syrs, ye that for the loue of me
16 haue left fathers & mothers, wyues / and chyldren /
and londes / & syngnoryes, of2 thys courtosy that ye Huon thanks his
companions for
haue shewyd me I thawke you. Now ye may retourne their devotion to
in to Fraunce,3 and 4 recommaunde me to y* kynges '
20 good grace, and to all the other barons / and when Jj£b,dl thtm
ye come to Burdeux, recowmaunde me to the duches
my mother, & to Gerarde my brother, and to the
lordes of my countre.' Than Guicharde and all the
24 other knyghtes answeryd Huon & sayde, 1 Sir, as yet
we wyll nor leue you, nother for deth nor lyfe, tyll we
haue biought you to the red see.' 'Syrs/6 quod They protest they
Huon, 'of6 the greate seruys & courtosy that ye ofrer tui they reach the
Red See.
28 me I thanke you ' / than Garyn called two of his
seruantes, and commaundyd them to retourne to 7 his
wyfe, and to desyre her to be of good chere, and that
shortely he wolde retourne / the whiche thyng they
32 dyd, and retournyd and dyd there message / whan
Huon vnderetode that his vncle garyn was dyssposyd
to abyde with him, he sayd / ' fayre vncle, ye shal not
1 seruice. * for. 8 againe. 4 humbly.
* why then. 8 for. 7 Fol. xv. back, col. 1.
Digitized by
60
HUON OF BURDBUX.
[Ca. xxi.
Nor will Qaryn
depart from him.
They pate
through deserts,
and suffer much.
Hnon weeps and
complains of the
Emperor's
injustice.
His companions
bid him have
faith in God's
power.
They ride on to a
small cottage,
where an old man
is (baud to dwelL
The old man
weeps on seeing
Huon.
nede to trauayll bo mycho / I woM counsell you to
retourne to your wyfe and chylderne.' ' Syr/ quod
garyn, ' and god wyll, I shall not leue you no day
tyll ye retourne your selfe ' / ' vncle/ quod Huon, 4
' I thanke you of your courtesy.' Thus they went to
theyr lodgynge and dyned / & after dyner tooke there
horses / and so rode by hylles and dales / so that yf I
sholde recounte all the aduentures that they founde in 8
theyr way, it sholde be to longe a processe to show it./
but as the trew story1 wytnessyth / they sufferyd
myche payne and trauayl / for they passyd suche
desertes / where as they founde but small sustenaunce / 12
whereof Huon was ryght sorowfull for the loue of them
that were with hym / and began to wepe & to
remembre his owne countre, sayynge, 'Alas, noble
kynge of Frau/ace, grete wronge and grete syne ye haue 16
done, thus to dryue me out of my countre & to sende
me in to2 strange countres,8 to thentent to short my
dayes. I pray to god pardon you therof ' 4 / than garyn
and the other knyghtes comfortyd hym & sayd, ' A, 20
syr, dysmay you not for vs / god is puyssant ynough
to ayde vs / he neuer fayllyth them tliat louyth hym ' /
thus they rode forth in the deserte so longe tyll at last
they sawe a lytyll cotage, before the whiche sat an olde 24
aunsyent man with a longe whyte berde, and hys heyre
hangynge ouer hys shulders / whan Huon parseyuyd
hym he drew thedyr & salutyd ye olde man in y*
name of god & of y* blyssyd wyrgyn saynt5 mary / 28
than the aunsyent man lyft vp his eyes & behelde
Huon, & had grete meruayll, for of a greate6 season
before he had sene no man / that spake 7 of god / than
he behelde Huon in the vysage / & began sore to wepe ; 32
8 than he stept8 to Huon & tooke hym by the legge &
1 history. * a. 8 Land. 4 therefore.
6 saynt omitted. 6 long. T Fol. xv. hack, col. 2.
iirug. i vi. a*<
and stepping vnto Huon.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. Xxi.] OF THE MEETING OF HUON AND GERAMES.
61
kyssyd it mo then .xx. tymys / * frend/ quod Huon,
'I requyre you shew me why ye make this sorow.'
* Syr/ quod he, 'a1 .xxx. yere passyd I cam hether / & He teiia Huon he
has seen no
4 sen that tyme I neuer saw man beleuynge on the christian man lot
. 0 _ thirty years,
crysten fayth / & by* the regardynge of your vysage and his face
causyth me to remembre a noble prynce that I haue SSeSe^iT °f
sene in Fraunce, who was called duke Seuyn of
8 Burdeux / therfore I requyre you shew me yf euer ye .
saw hym, I pray you hyde it not fro me * / ' frende/
quod Huon / 'I pray you shew me where ye were
borne, & of what lynage & countre ye be of.' 4 Nay,
12 sir,' quod he, ' that wyll I not do fyrst ; ye shall shew
me what ye be, and where ye were borne, & why
ye come heder ' / ' frende/ quod Huon / ' sene it please
you to knowe, I shall shewe you ' / then Huon & all
16 his company alyghtyde & tyed theyr horses to trees.
WHan Huon was alyghtyde, he sat downe by the
olde man & sayd, 'frend, sen ye wyll know At the old man's
request Huon
my bysenes, I shall shew you. know for trouthe / teiis hu history.
20 I was borne in the cyte of Burdeux, and am sowne
to duke Seuyn ' / then Huon shewyd hym all his hole
case & enterpryse, & of ye deth of Chariot, & how he
dyscomfytyd erle Amaury, & how that Charlemayn
24 had chasyd hym out of Fraunce / & of the message
that he was chargyd to say to the admyrall Gaudyse /
8 * this that I haue shewyd you is of trouthe.'8 whaw y*
old man had well harde Huon, he began sore to wepe.
28 4 Syr/ quod Huon, ' sen it please you to know of
my sorow / duke Seuyn my father is deed .vii. yere
past / my mother I trust be a lyue, & a brother of
myn whom I haue left with her. And now, sir, sen4
32 ye haue harde of myn affayres, I requyre you gyue
me your couwsell & aduyse / & also, yf it please you, to
shew me what ye be, & of what countre / & how ye 6caine
1 about. 2 now. '-s affirming all to be for certainty.
4 seeing. * Fol. xvi. col. 1.
Digitized by
62 huon op burdeux. [Ca. xxi.
The old man teiu in to these partyes.' ' Syr/ quod the old man / * know-
in return how he
wm bom at for trouthe I was borne in Geronnill / & brother to ye
Geronville,
and was brother good prouost Guyer / whan I departyd thense I was a
Quyerfr0V°*t yonge knyght / & hauntyd the iuste* & tornoys ; so that 4
on a day it fortunyd at a tornay that was made at
Poieters, I slew a knyght of a noble blode, wherfore I
was banyshyd out of the realme of Fraunce. But my
brother ya prouost made suche a request to duke Seuyn 8
your father / that by his meanes my peace was made
with the kynge / & my londe sauyd / on the1
and how he was condycyon that I shulde goo 2 a pylgrymage* to the
iTobie^ight1** holy sepulcure to 8 pray for y6 soull8 of ye knyght that 12
to uwHdy *** I alew> & to forgyue my synnes4 / thus I departyd out
sepulchre; Q£ coun^re j an(j wnen \ had done my vyage I
and how wheu thought to haue retournyd / but as I departyd out of
forFranoe "g*ln ye cyte of Jerusalem / to take the way to Acre / 16
passynge by a wood betwene Jerusalem and Naplese /
he wo seized bj ther cam apon me a .x. sarasyns, who tooke me and
the Saracens,
who imprisoned brought me to the cyte of Babylon, where as I was in
him at Babylon, pry80n ft yere complete, where as I sufferyd myche 20
pouerte & mysere / but our lorde god, who neuer
faylyth them that seruyth hym & haue in hym
full affyaunce, he sende me the grace that by the
meanes of a ryght noble ladi I was brought out of 24
•nd how he pryson in an nyghte, and so I flede in to this forest,
escaped thence to
this forest, where as I haue bene this .xxx. yere, and in all this
since lived for space I neuer saw nor liarde man beleuynge on Jhesu
thirty years. (jrjst / thus I haue shewyd you all myn affayre'/28
when Huon had harde the knyghtys tale he had grete
ioy / and embrassyd hym & sayde how often tymys
he had sene Guyer, his brother the prouost, wepe for
you6 / 6 and whan I departyd fro Burdeux °I delyueryd 32
to7 hym all my londes to gouerne / wherfore I requyre
1 upon. 2-8 omitted.
*-» to punish my body. * faults. * him.
6 quoth he added, 1 vnto.
Digitized by
Ca. XXLJ HOW HUON MEETS WITH GERAMES.
63
you shew me your name.' ' Syr,' quod he, 1 1 am called
Gerame8 / and now I pray you shew me your name.' His name is
'Syr/ quod he, 'I Jam nam yd Huon, & my yonger Gerame*'
4 brother is called Gerarde. But, syr, I pray you shew
me how ye haue so longe lyuyed here, and what
sustenaunce ye haue.' 2 * Syr/ quod Gerames, ' I haue
eten none other thynge but roote* & frutes that I haue
8 founde in the wood ' / then Huon demaundyd of hym
yf he coude speke the langage sarasyn. ' Ye, syr,1 quod and he can speak
he, ' as well or better then any sarasyn in the countre, the ©otStry? °f
nor there is no way but that I know it.'
12 "TXT Han Huon had harde Gerames / than he
▼ T demaundyd forther of hym yf he coude go
to Babylon / ' ye, syr/ quod Gerames, ' I can go There are, he
thether by .ii. wayes / the most surest way is hense to^Babyion.
16 a .xL iurneys,8 & the other is but .xv. iurneys.8 But
I counsell you to take the long way / for yf ye take
the shorter way ye most passe throwout a wood a .xvi.
leges of lenght ; but the way is so full of y* fayrey & Bnt the shorter is
beset by Oberon
20 straunge thynges, that suche as passe that way are lost, and his fairies,
for in that wood abydyth a kynge of ye fayrey namyd
Oberon / he is of heyght but of .iii. fote, and crokyd Oberonisadwarf,
shulderyd, but yet he hathe an aungelyke vysage, so
24 that there is no mortall man that seethe hym but that
taketh grete pleasure to beholde his fase / and ye shall
no soner be enteryd in to that wood, yf ye go that
way / 4 he wyll fynde the maner6 to speke with you /
28 and yf ye speke to6 hym ye are lost for euer / and ye and any one who
shall euer fynde hym before you / so that it shalbe in is lost for ever,
maner impossyble that ye can skape fro hym without
spekynge to hym / for his wordes be so pleasant to
32 here that there is no mortall man that can well skape
without spekyng to6 hym / and yf he se that ye wyll
not speke a worde to6 hym, Than he wyll be sore dys-
1 Fol. xvi. col. 2.
4 but
» had.
* meaoes.
8 dayea Journey.
8 vnto.
64 huon of burdeux. [Ca. xxi.
Yet if a man pleasyd with you, and or1 ye can gete out of the wood
is silent when f ,
addressed by him he wyll cause / reyne and wynde / hayle / and snowe /
he will cause
storms to arise, and wyll make 2meruelous tempestes / with thonder and
with magic, lyghtenynges / so that it shall seme to you that all the 4
worlde sholde pereshe, & he shall3 make to seme before
you a grete rynnynge riuer, blacke and depe. But ye
may passe it at your ease, and it shall not wete the fete
of your horse / for all is but fantesey and enchaunt- 8
mente* / that the dwarfe shall make / to thentent to
tut he can work haue you with hym / and yf ye can kepe your selfe
evil. without spekynge to hym / ye maye than well skape.
Gerames begs But, syr, to eschew all perelles, I counsell you take the 12
Huon to avoid J r > J
Oberon, lenger way, for I thynke ye can not skape fro hym /
and than be ye lost for euer.' Whan Huon had well
bat Huon longs to harde Gerames he had grete meruayll, and he had grete
see him,
desyre in hym selfe to se that dwarfe kynge of the 16
fayrey, and the straunge aduentures that were in that
wood, than he sayde to Gerames, that for fere of any
and determines to deth he wolde not leue to passe that way, sen4 he
take the shorter
path. myght come to Babylon m .xv. dayes / for in takynge 20
the lenger way he myght paraduenture6 fynde mo ad-
uentures / and sens he was aduertesyd / that with kepyng
his tonge fro spekynge he myght abrege hys iorney,
and6 he sayde that surely he wolde that way what so 24
Gerames reiuc- euer chaunce fell.7 * Syr,' quod Gerames / ' ye shall do
tantly assents to
Huon's plan, and your8 pleasure / for whiche so euer way* ye take, it shall
guidance. not be without me / I shall brynge you to Baby lone to
the admirall Gaudyse ; I knowe hym ryght well / and 28
when ye be come thether ye shall se there a damesell,
He has often seen as I haue harde say, the most f ayrest creature in all
fair daughter. " Inde, and the grete10 and most swetest and most courte-
sest that euer was borne / & it is she that ye seke, 32
for she is doughter to the admirall Gaudyse.'
1 before. 2 Fol. xvi. back, col. 1. 8 will. * seeing.
5 perchaunce. u and omitted. 7 befell s own.
9 way soeuer. 10 onely.
Digitized by
Ca. XXU.] OF OBKRON AND HI8 RICH APPAREL. 65
% Howe Gerames went with Huon and his
company, and so came in to the wood, wher
as they fouad 1 kynge Oberon, who coun-
iuryde them to speke to2 hym.
Capitulo .xxii.
Han Huon had well hard Gerames howe Huon and
a i Geramet »et out
he was myndyd to go8 with hym, he together,
was ther of ryght ioyfull, and thankyd
hym of hys courtesy and seruys / and
gaue hym a goodely horse whereon he
mountyd / and so rode forth to gether / so longe that they
12 came in to the wood where as kynge Oberon hauntyd «»d reach the
„ _ / ° ; wood that Oberon
most Than Huon4 was wery of trauyll, and what for haunu.
famyn and for hete, the whiche he and his company had
enduryd two dayes without brede or mete, so that he
16 was so febyll that he coude ryde no forther / & then he Huon is tore
' distressed by
began petuosly to wepe, and complaynyd of the grete hunger and
wronge that kynge Charlemayn hade done to2 hym /
and than Guaryn and Gerames comfortyd hym and had
20 greate pety of hym, and they knewe well by the reason
of his yought hunger opressyd hym 6 more then it dyde
to them of gretter age / than they alyghtyd vnder a and while he
and hi* oom-
grete oke, to ye entent to serche for sum frute to ete / pany are alighting
24 they6 lette theyr horses go to pasture, whan they were °r
thus alyghtyd / the dwarfe of the fayre / kynge Oberon,
came rydynge by, and had on a gowne so ryche that it 0beron nam by.
were meruayll to recount the ryches and fayssyon ther-
28 of / and it was so garnyshyd vrith precyou* stones that Hie dress shines
with precious
the clerenes of them shone lyke the sone. Also he had stones,
a goodly bow in hys hande so ryche that it coude not »nd in his hand
is a bow of great
be estemyde, and hys arrous after the same sort / and value.
32 they 7 had suche proparter / that any beest in the
1 Fol. xvi. back, col. 2. * vnto. 8 along.
4 whe. 6 Fol. xvii. col. 1. * glad therof.
7 were of such a nature or qualitie.
CHARL. ROM. VI. P
Digitized by
66
A horn, the gift
of four fairies,
hangs about bis
neck.
One fairy had
endowed it with
the power of
curing by its
blast all manner
of sickness;
another with that
of satisfying
hunger and
thirst :
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[G
a. xxu.
a third with that
of lightening
every heavy
heart;
and a fourth with
that of forcing
whosoever heard
it to come at the
pleasure of him
that blew it.
At the sound of
the horn Huon
and his com-
panions are filled
with joy.
Huon is no
longer thirsty or
hungry.
worlde that lie wolde wyshe for / the arow sholde1
areste hym / Also he hade about hys necke a ryche
home hangyng by two lases of golde / the home was
so ryche and fay re / that there was neuer sene none2 4
suche ; it was made by .iiii. ladyes of the fayre in the
yle of Chafalone / on of them gaue to the home suche
a proparte / that who so euer hard the sownde therof,
yf he were in the gretest syknes in the worlde / he 8
sholde incontynent be hole and sownde ; the lady that
gaue thys gyft to this home was namyd Gloriande / the
secounde lady was namyd Translyne ; he8 gaue to this
home a nother properte, and that was, who so euer 12
harde this home, yf he were in the gretest famyn of
the worlde, he sholde be satisfied as well as though he
had eien al that he wolde wysshe for, and in lyk wyse
for drynk as well as though he had dronken his fylle 16
of the best wyne in all the worlde. the thyrd lady,
namyd Margate, gaue to this home yet a greter gyft /
and that was, who so euer harde this home / though he
were neuer so poore or febyll by syknes, he sholde haue 20
suche ioy in his herte that he sholde synge and daunce /
the forth lady, namyd Lempatrix, gaue to this home
suche a gyft, that who so euer harde it, yf he were a 4.C.
iorneys5 of, he sholde come at the pleasure of hym that 24
blew it, farre or nere. Than kynge Oberon, who knew
well and hade sen the .xiiii. cowpaygnyons, he set hys
home to hys mouth and blewe so melodyous a blast /
that the .xiiii. compaygnyons, beyng vnder the tre, had 28
so parfayte a ioy at there hertes that they al rose vp
and begane to synge and daunse. 4 A, good lorde/ quod
Huon, ' what fortune is come to vs ? / me thynke we be
in paradyse / ryght now I coude not susteyn my selfe 32
for lake of mete & drynke, and now I fete my selfe
nother hungry nor thrusty. fro whense may this come?'/
1 would. 2 any. 3 she. 4 Fol. xvii. ool. 2.
6 day es journey 8.
Digitized by
Ca. xxiii.] of obbron's marvellous power, 67
' Syr' quod Gerames / ' know for trough thys is done
by the dwarfe of the fayry / whom ye shall sone se
passe by you. But, syr, I require you in1 iupardy in2 Gerames warns
4 lesynge of your lyfe that ye speke to hym no worde, wo^t^o't^n"0
without ye purpose to byde euer with hym.' * Syr/
quod Huon, ' haue no dought of me, sen I knowe the
iupardy.' Therwith y* dwarfe began to crye alowde,
8 and sayde, ' Ye .xiiii men tit at passyth by my wood, oberon calls to
god kepe you all / and I desyre you speke with me, spLk^Mm?
and I coniure you ther to by god almyghty, and by
ye crysteudome that ye haue receyuyd, and by all that
12 god hath made, answer me.'
Howe kynge Oberon was ryght sorowfull
and sore dyspleasyd in that Huon wold
not speke / and of the grete fere that
16 he put Huon and hys company in.
Capitulo .xxiii.
Han that Huon and hys company harde Huon and his
oompany ride
the dwarfe speke, they montyd on away,
there horses & rode awaye as faste as
they mygh without spekyng of any
worde / and the dwarfe, seynge ho we
that 8 they rode away & wolde not speke, he was
24 sorowfull and angry / than he sette one of his fyngers
on his home / out of y* whiche issuyd out4 suche oberon in anger
... raises a tempest
wynde a6 and tempest so horryble to here that it bare about them,
downe trees, and therwith came suche a rayne & hayk
28 that6 semyd that heuen and the erthe hade fought
together, and that ye worlde shulde haue ended / the
beestys in the wodes brayed and cryed / and thou
foules of the eyre fell doune deed for7 feer that they
32 were in / ther was no creature but he wolde haue bene
1 on. * of. 8 Fol. xvii. back, col. 1.
4 out omitted. 6 a winde. 6 it. 7 the.
F 2
Digitized by
68 huon of burdkux. [Ca. xxiii.
and causes a afrayed of that tempeest / than sodenly aperyd before
perilous river to
appear in the them a grete ryuer / that ran swyfter than the byrdes
dyde flye / and the water was so blacke and so perre-
\oti8y & made suche a noyse that it myght be herde .x. 4
Huon ii itricken leges of / 4 Alas/ quod Huon, 4 I se well now we all1 be
with fear. ° '
all loste ; we shall here be oppressyd without god haue
pyte of vs / I repent me that euer I enteryd in to
this wode ; I had ben better a9 traueylyd a hole here8 8
than to haue come nether* / 4 Syr/ quod Gerames,
4 dysmay you not / for all this is done by the dwerfe of
the Fayrey ' / 4 well/ quod Huon, 4 1 thynke it beste
to alyght fro our horse, for I thynke we shall neuer 12
skape fro hense, but that we shall be all oppressyd '/
than Garyn and the other companyons had grete
meruayll, and wher in grete feer / 4 a, Gerames,' quod
Huon, 4 ye shewyd me well that it was grete perell 16
to passe this wode / I repent me4 that I hadde not
a fair eaitie rises beleuyd you ' / thaw they sawe on ye other syde of the
■&eof the°?iver,te ryuer a fayre castell enuyronyd with .xiiii. grete
toures, and on euery toure a clocher of fyne golde be 20
semynge / the whiche they long regardyd / & by that
tyme they had gone a lytyll by ye ryuer syde they
butaoonvaniihee. loste ye syght of ye castell, it was clene vanysshyd
a way / wher of Huon & his company were sore 24
Gerames shows abasshyd / 4 Huon,' quod Gerames, 4 of all this that
that all this is the _ ' //.„,.., _ _ _
work of the ye se dysmay you not / for all this is done 6 by the
F^.land.whoii crokyd dwarfe of ye Fayrey, & all too begyle you / but
Huon haJispokiln ne can no^ greue you so ye speke no worde / how be it, 28
him.0** Wlth or6 we departe fro hym he wyll make vs all abasshyd,
for anone he wyll come after vs lyke a madd man by
cause ye will not speke to7 hym ; but, syr, I requyre
you as in goddys name / be nothynge afreyde, but 32
ryde forth surely, & euer be ware that ye speke to7
hym no worde ' / 4 syr/ quod Huon, 4 haue no dought
1 all omitted. a to haue. 8 yeere. 4 now.
6 Fol. xvii. back, col. 2. 6 ere. 7 vnto.
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Google
Ca. XXiv.] HOW HUON WILL 8PEAK NO WORD WITH OBERON. 69
therof / for I had rather he were bresten1 than I
shulde 8peke one worde to hym ' / than they rode to
pass y* ryuer, and than they founde there no thynge to
4 let them, & so rode a2 .v. legges / 4 syr/ quod Huon, Huon vainly
Imagines lie I
' we may well tnanke god that we be thus skapyd thes now escaped
dwarfe, who thought to haue dysceyuyd vs / I was obe^on"toll,
neuer in such feer durynge my lyfe, god confourcde
8 hym ' / thus they rode deuysynge of ye lytyll dwarfe
who had done them so myche trouble.
% How kynge Oberon, dwarfe of the Fayrey,
pursuyd soo moche Huon that he con-
12 straynyd hym to speke to hym at laste.
Capitulo .xxiiii.
» Han Gerames vnderstode ye companye
how they thought they were3 skapyd
fro the dwarfe, he began too smyle, &
sayd / 'syrs, make none a vance4 that Gerames warns
him not to too
ye be out of his6 dauwger / for I certain that m*
belyue ye shall soone se hym agayne* / & as sone overlie™
20 as Gerame had spoke the same wordys / they sawe
before them a bryge, ye which they must passe, &
they sawe y* dwarfe on y* other parte. Huon sawe and straightway
, . „ o 1 11 Oberon in seen on
him fyrst, & sayd, 'I se ye deuyll who hath done vs a bridge before
24 so myche trouble ' / Oberon herde hym, and sayde,
' frende, thou doest me iniurey 6 without cause, for I
was neuer deuyll nor yll creature / I am 7a man7 as
other be / but I coniure the by the deuyne puisance to conjuring Huon
' * to speak with
28 speke to 8 me.' thaw Gerames sayd, ' syrs, for goddes sake him.
Gerames
let hym alone / nor speke no word to hym / for by hys dissuades him
fayr langage he may dyssayue vs all / as he hath done
many other ; it is pyte that he hath leuyd so longe.1
1 destroyed. 1 about 8 whree in orig.
4 braging. 6 this. 6 Fol. xviii. col. 1.
7-7 omitted, 8 vnto.
Digitized by
70
HUON OF BURDBUX.
[Ca. xxiv.
Oberon blows hii
hom, and Huon
and liis company
can ride no
further, but stop
and sing.
Another blast of
the fairy's horn
summons four
hundred armed
Oberon bids the
warriors slay the
knights.
Gloriande begs
the dwarf to give
them some
respite.
Huon and his
company ride on
apace.
than they rode forthe a good pase, and left the dwerfe
alone sore dyspleysyd / in that they wolde not speke to
hym / than he toke his home, and sette it to his
mouthe and blewe it / whan Huon and his companye 4
herde it they hadde no power to ryde any ferther / but
they began all to synge / than Oberon the dwarf e
sayde, 4 yonder company are fooles, and proude / that
for any salutacyon that I can gyue them they dysdayne 8
to answere me / but by the god that made me, or1
they escape me the refuse2 of my wordes shall be dere
bought.' than he tooke agayne his home, and strake it
.iii. tymes on his bo we / and cryed out aloude and 12
sayde, 4 ye my men, come and apere before me ' / than
there came to hym a3 foure hondred men of armes,
and demaundyd of Oberon what was his pleasure, and
who had dyspleasyd hym / 4 Syrs,' quod Oberon, 16
4 1 shall shewe you / how be it I am greuyd to shewe
it / here in this wode there passyd .xiiii. knyghtes /
who dysdaynyth to speke to4 me / but to the entent
that they shall not mocke me / they shal derely by the 20
refusynge of theyr answere / wherefore I wyll ye
go after them and slee them all, let none escape'/
than one of his knyghtes sayd, 4 syr, for goddes sake
haue pyte of them ' / 4 sertenly,' quod Oberon, myne 24
honour sauyd, I can not spare them syn they dysdayne
to speke to4 me' / 4 syr,' quod Gloriand, 4 for goddes
sake do not as ye say / but, syr, worke by my counsell,
and after do as it please you / syr, I counsell you yet 28
ones agayne goo after them / for 6yf they do not6 speke
we shall slee them all ; for surely, syr, yf they see you
retoume agayne to them, so shortly they shall7 be in
grete feer ' / 4 frend,' quod Oberon, 4 1 shall do as ye 32
haue cou?isellyd me ' / thus Huon & his company rode
forth a grete pace / and Huon sayd, 4 syrs, we are now
1 before. 2 refusal.
6 Fol. xviii. col. 2.
8 about
6 then.
4 vnto.
7 will.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. Xxiv.] HOW OBBRON POLLOW8 AFTER HUON. 71
fro the dwerfe a1 .v. leges ; I neuer sawe in my lyfe
soo fayre a creture in ye visage / I bane grete meruayle He marvels at
how he can speke of god almyghty2 / for I thinke he ^deeireT to*7'
4 be a deuyll of hell / & sennys he spekyth of god, me apeak with him"
thynke we ought to speke to hym / for I thynke suche
a creature can haue no power to do vs any yll3 / I
thi/ike he be not past of ye age of .v. yeres ' / ' syr/ quod
8 Gerames, ' as lytel as he semyth, & that ye take hi/n
for a chylde / he was borne .xL yere afore ye Natyuyte
of our lord Jhem Cryst ' / ' surely,' quod Huon, ' I care
not what age he be of / but yf he com agayDe, yll hape
12 come to me yf I kepe my worded & spech fro him / I
pray you be not dyspleasid.' & thus as they rode
dyuysynge .xv. dayes / sodewly Oberon apery d to4 them After fifteen days
& sayd, ' syrs, are ye not yet aduysyd to speke to4 me ? / appear* to them,
16 yet agayne I am com to salute you in ye name of ye and salutes Huon
god that made & formyd vs, & I coniure you by God.
ye puysaunce that he hath geuin me / that ye speke to
me, for I repute you for fooles to thi?eke thus to passe
20 thorow my wod & dysdayne to speke to me / a, Huon,
I knowe thee well ynough, & wether thou woldest go /
I know all thy dedes, &5 thou slowest Chariot, and He recites Huon'i
after dyscomfyted Amaury / and I knowe ye message
24 that Charlemayn hath chargyd the to say to the
admvrall Gaudys, ye which thyng is impossyble to be and shows him
J J J . i that wit,,out
done without myne ayed / for without me thou shalt fairy aid he will
/i i o t never fulfil his
neuer acoiwplyshe this entrepryce / speke to me / & I mission.
28 shall do the that courtesy that I shall cause ye to
acheue thyne entrepryce, ye which is6 impossyble
without me / & whan thou, hast acheuyd thy message I
shal briwge thee agayne in to frawce in sauegard / &7
32 I know y* cause that thou. 8wylt not speke to me /
hath ben9 by reason of olde Gerames who is there with
the. Therfore, Huon, beware of thy selfe ; go no
1 about 2 almightie God. 8 euill. 4 vnto. 6 how.
• elac 7 and omitted. 8 Fol. xviii. back, col. 1. B it is.
Digitized by
72
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxv.
oberon on<» more f orther / for I knowe well it is thre dayes passyd sene
begs Huon to
■peak with him, thou dydyst ete any mete to profyt the / yf thou wylt
beleue me / thou shalt haue ynough / of suche
sustenance as thou wylt wysshe fore* And as soone as 4
thou hast dynyd I wyll giue the leue to departe / yf it
he thy pleasure / of this haue no dought.' 4 Syr/ quod
Huon, ' ye be welcom.' ' A,' quod Oberon, ' thy
salutasyow shalbe well rewardyd. know for trouthe 8
thou neuer dyddest salutasyon so profitable for thy
selfe / thou mayst thanke god / that he hathe sent the
that grace.'
end Hnon bide
htm welcome.
The dwarf
promises him rich
reward for this
salutation.
Huon asks
wherefore Oberon
has pursued him.
Oberon tells how
he loves Huon,
and who he is.
His father was
Julius Cesar, and
his mother the
lady of the Secret
Isle, once loved by
the fair
Florimont.
Of the grete meruaylles that Oberon 12
shewyd to1 Huon / & of the aduentures
that fell. Capitulo .xxv.
Han Huon had well herd Oberon he
had grete merueyll, and demaunyd yf 16
it were trew that he hade sayd. 'ye
trewly/ quod Oberon, 'of that make
no dought/ 'Syr/ quod Huon, 'I
haue greate merueyll for what cause ye haue alwayes 20
pursuyd vs ' / * Huon/ quod Oberon, ' know well / I
loue thee well by cause of the trouthe that is in the /
and therfore naturally I loue the / and yf thou wylt
knowe who I am, I shall shew the / trew it is Julius 24
cesar engendered me on the lady of the pryuey 2 Isle /
who was sumtyme welbelouyde of the fayre Florimont
of albaney. But by cause that Florimont who as than
was yonge / & he had a mother who dyd so myche / 28
that she sawe my mother and Florimont to gether in
a soletary place on y* see syde / whan my mo8ther
parseyud / that she was spyed by Florimonte* mother /
she departyd and left Florimont hyr louer in grete 32
1 vnto. * secret 5 Fol. xviii. back, col 2.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. XXV.] OF THE fairies' gifts to OBERON. 73
wepynges and lamentasyons / and neuer saw hym after /
& than she retournyd in to hyr1 countre of ye priuey2 His mother's
island is
Isle / the which now is namyd Chyfalonnye, wher as now known m
_# 0,1 1 . 1 . . Chyfalonnye.
4 she maryed after, & hade a sonne who in his tyme after By one marriage
was kynge of Egypt / namyd Neptanabw* / it was he
Neptanabus, the
as it is sayde thai engenderyd Alexander ye grete, who Alexander the
aft causyd hym to dye / than after a .vii. yere Sezar Great*
8 passyd by the see as he went in3 to thesalee4 wher as
he fought with pompee / in his way he passyd by
Chyfalonnye / wher my mother fetchyd hym / and he caw mi in lore
-„.,.,, . , , , ! , , , wlthheronhU
fell in lone with her bycause she shewyd hym that he way to Thessaiy
12 sholde dyscomfyt Pompee / as he dyde / thus I haue pompey^1*
shewyd yon who was my father / at my byrthe there At oberon's birth
was many a pry nee 5 and barons of the fayrre / and were inTited to be
present except
many a noble lady that came to se my mother whyles one,
16 she trauaylyd of me. & among them theyr was one was
not content / by cause she was not sent for as wel as who in anger
' caused him to
y* other, & whan I was borne / she gaue me a gyft, ye cease growing
whiche was, that whan I sholde passe .iiL yere of age I oid.n 7*n
20 sholde growe no more / but thus as ye se my now /
and whan sheiiad thus done / and sawe that she had
thus seruyd my by heyr wordis / she repentyd heyr But ene later
repented of her
selfe / and wolde recompense me a nother waye. Than wrath, and made
him the fairest of
24 she gaue my 6 another gyfte / and that was, that I mortals,
sholde be the fayreste creature that euer nature formyd /
as thou mayst se my now / and another lady of the a second (airy
-r, 1 rr, i- f o gave him the
Fayrrey namyd Transline / gaue me a nother gyft, & power of seeing
Aft . , , . , into all men's
28 that was, all that euer any man can knowe or thynke, minds;
good or yH, I do7 know it / the thyrde lady, to do
more for me / and to please my mother ye better / she * »nird that of
' f J J 1 going whither he
gaue my / that there is not so fayre8 a con tray / but would by merely
wishing.
32 that yf I wyll wysshe me selfe theyr, I shall be there
incontynent with 9 what nombre of men as I lyste / and
1 owne. 8 secret. 5 vnto. * place. 6 many Princes.
6 me. 7 should. 8 farre.
• Fol. xix. col. 1.
Digitized by
74 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. XXV.
Everything more ouer, yf I wyll baue a castell or a palays at
indeed that he
requiree he can myne owne deuyse, incontenent it shall be made / and
procure by merely
wuwng for it. as sone gone agayne and 1 I lyste ; and what mete or
wyne that I wyll2 wysshe for it,s I shall4 haue it 4
He u king of incontenent ; & also I am kynge of Momur, the whiche
Momur.
is a5 .iiii. C. leges fro hense / and yf I lyste incowtenent
I can be there / know for tronthe that thou art aryuyd
at a good porte / I know well thou haste grete nede of 8
mete / for this .iii. dayes thou hast had but small
Oboron offers sustenaunce / but I shall cause the to haue ynough / I
Huon sustenance.
demaunde of the wether thou wylt haue mete and
drynke here in this medow, or in a palayes, or in a 12
hall j coramaund where as thou wylt, & thou shalt baue
it for the and thy company ' / 1 syr/ quod Huon, ' I
wyll folowe your pleasour, and neuer do nor thynke
the contrary ' / 1 Huon,' quod he, 1 as yet I haue not 16
shewyd all the gyftes that were gyuen me at my
No bird nor byrthe / the .iiii lady gaue me / that there is no byrde
^^dnw noT beest, be they neuer so cruell / but yf I wyll haue
ShEST" of ihem 1 may take them with my hand> and also 1 sha11 20
M^oidn;9' neuer seme* elder than thou seest me now / and whan I
*eav«hthe world 8ntt^ departe oufc °* tn^8 worlde, my place is aperrelyd7
piMir«!djfor *n Paradvce / *or * knowe that all thynges creatyd in
him in paradise, this mortall world must nedys haue an ende ' / ' syr,1 24
<\uod Huon, 'such a gyft ought to be well kept'/
' Huon,1 quod Oberon, 1 well ye were counselyd when
ye spake to me / ye had neuer before so fayre
aduenture / shewe me by thy faythe / yf thou wylt 28
ete / & what mete thou wylt haue and what wyne thou
Huon accept* the wylt drynke ' / 1 syr,' quod Huon, ' so that I had
fairy's offer of # .
rood and drink, mete and drinke I care not what it were, so that I and
my company were fyllyd and ryd fro our famyn' / 32
He and his than Oberon laughyd at hym and sayde / ' syrs, all ye
at oErOT*? d°*" syte downe here in this medow / and haue no dought
bidding,
when. * would. 9 it omitted. 4 should.
6 about. 6 beseerue. 7 appointed.
Digitized by
Ca. XXV.] HOW POOD AND DRINK COME FORTH BY ENCHANTMENT, 75
but all that I wyll do is done by the puys^aunce of our
lorde god 1 / than Oberon began to wysshe / and sayd
to8 Huon and his company, and sayd, 'syrs, aryse vp
4 quykly,' the whiche they dyd / than they regardyd8 and when they
before them and sawe a fayre and a ryche palayes richj-bnu? *
garnysshyd with chambers and halles / hangyd and Sim?*****
beddyd with ryche clothes of sylke beten with golde,
8 and tablys redy set full of mete / whan Huon and his
company sawe the ryche palayes before them they had
grete meruayll / than4 Oberon toke Huon by the hande / Oberon leads
& with hym mountyd vp in to the palayes / whan where servants
12 they came there they founde seruaunfes there redy / ^Xrbasina.
bryngynge to2 them basyns of golde garnysshyd wiHi
precyous stones / they gaue water to Huon. than6
he sat downe at the tabull, the whiche was furnysshyd a table is set
16 with all maner of mete and drynke that man coude food and drink,
wysshe / Oberon satte at the tables ende on a banke* At one end, on an
of Iuorey rychely garnysshyd with golde and precyous oberon takes' Ms
stones, the which sete had suche vertu geuyn to it by
20 the fayrey / that who so euer by any suttyll meanes
wolde poyson hym that shulde syte there on, as soone
as he shulde aproche nere to ye sete he shuld fal down
starke deed / king Oberon sat theron rychely aparelyd /
24 and Huon, who sat nere to3 hym, began to ete a grete Near him is Huon
pace / but Gerames had small apetyte to ete / for he company],
beleuyd that they shulde neuer departe thense / whan Su? they Ihau"
Oberon sawe hym he sayd / 4 Gerames, ete thy mete °eav» 2*
28 and drynke / for as soone as thou haste eeten thou ob^t's^les
shalt haue leue to go when thou lyste 9 / whan Gerames ^^J*
herde that he was ioyfull / than he began to ete & when the meal is
drynke / for he knewe well that Oberon would not do
32 agaynst his assurance / all the company dyd well ete
and drynke / they were seruyd with all thynges that
they coud wysh fore / whan Huon sawe how they were
1 Fol. xix. col. 2. a vnto. 8 looked. * and.
6 and. 6 bench.
Digitized by
76 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. XXV.
when all are all satysfyed and replete, and had well dynyd, 1he sayd
satisfied, Hood
asks obei-on'e to kynge Oberon / ' syr, whan it shall be your pleasour
leave to depart j wo\^e yQ shulde gyue vs leue to departe ' / ' Huon,'
quod Oberon, ' I am ryght well content so to do / but 4
fyrste I wyll she we you my iuelles ' / than he callyd
oberon tends for a Clariand, a knyght of the fayrey, and sayd, 'frende, go
cup, and shows it ^ .11,1.
to Huon. and fetche to me my cuppe. he dyd his commaunde-
ment. and whan Oberon had the cuppe in his hande / 8
he sayd to2 Huon / 'syr, behold wel ye se well8 this
cuppe is4 voyde and empty' / 'that is trewe, syr,'
quod Huon / than Oberon sete the cuppe on the
table, and sayde to2 Huon / 'syr, beholde the grete 12
power that god hath gyuen me, and how that in the
The dwarf makes fayrey I may do my pleasour.' than he made ouer the
thesignofthe , - ... . _ „ .
cross over it and cuppe the signe of a crosse .111. tymes / than5 incontenent
the cuppe was full of wyne / and than he sayde, ' lo,6 16
syrs, ye may well se that this is done by the grace of
god / yet I shall shewe you the grete vertu that is in
this cuppe, for yf all the men in the worlde were here
Ail guiltless men, assembelyd to gether, and that the cuppe were in the 20
mid the cup Vuii handes of any man beynge out of deedly synne, he
their ilps?ng U *° myght drinke therof his fyll / but who so euer offer his
hande to take it beyng in deedly synne, the cuppe shulde
lese his vertu / and yf thou mayst drynke therof, I 24
Oberon wds Huon offer to giue the the cuppe' / 'syr,' quod Huon, 'I
drink of it, but he
tears that he has thanke you, but I am in dought that I am not worthy
unworthy of u. nor of valoure to drynke ther of nor to touch the
cuppe / I neuer herd of suche a dyngnyte as this 28
cuppe is of / but, syr, knowe for trouthe I haue ben
confessyd of all my synnes, and I am repentant and
sorOwf ull foT that I haue done / and I do perdon and
forgyue all the men in the worlde what so euer iniury 32
hath bene done to2 me / and I knowe not that I haue
done wronge to any creature, nor I hate no man.' and
i Fol. xix. back, col. 1. 1 vnto. * thai 4 now.
* and. • Behold.
Digitized by
Ca. xxvi.]
OF THE FAIRY'S CUP AND HORN.
77
bo he toke the cuppe in hothe his hawdes and set it to Huon however
his mouth, and dranke of the good wyne that was and?t uLkfus
1 therein at his pleasour. to *9
4f Of the grete giftes that Oberon gaue to*
Huort, as his horne of Iuorey & his cuppe,
the whiche were of grete vertues / and
Huon after thought to proue the vertu of
8 them, whereby he was in grete perell of
dethe. Capitulo .xxvi.
Han Oberon sawe that, he was ryght oberonie
glad, and came and enbrasyd Huon, pl^f of^non^1"
, q i ii # innocence, and
seynge how8 he was a noble man / entrusts the cup
V I gyue theft this cuppe as it is in the to keeplu*
maner as I shall shewe thee in any
wyse for any thyng ; for ye dyngnyte of the cuppe be
16 thou euer trewe and faythfull / for yf thou wylt worke
by my counsell I shall ayed thee and gyue the socour
in all thyne afifayres / but as soone as thou makyst any
lye the vertu of the cuppe wyl be lost and lese his
20 bounte, and besyde that thou shalt lese my loue and
ayed 9 / ' Syr/ quod Huon, 4 1 shall ryght well be
ware ther of / and now, syr, I requyre you suffer vs to Huon desire* to
departed 4 abyde yet,' quod Oberon6 ; 4 yet I haue "* forth'
24 another iuell the which I wyll gyue thee / by cause I
thynke there be trouthe and nobles in the. I wyll but oberon delays
gyue the a ryche horne of iuorey, the whiche is full of hie ivory horn,
grete vertu / the7 whiche thou shalt bere with the / it is
28 of so grete vertu / that yf thou be neuer so f arre fro me,
as soone as thou blowest the horne / I shal here the / one Mast of widen
& shall be incontenent with the with a .C. thousaunde dwarf to his eide
*o /» 111*1 a hundred
men of 8 armes for to socoure and ayed the / but one thousand men.
32 thynge I commaunde thee, on the payne of lesinge of
1 Fol. xix. back, col. 2. 2 Tnto. 8 saying that
4 and. 6 (qnoth he). 6 Huon mitread in orig.
7 and. 8 at.
Digitized by
Google
78
Bat it is only to
be blown when
Huon is in great
peril.
HUON OF BURDEUI.
[Ca. xxvl
Huon takes leare
of King Oberon.
Oberon weeps on
parting with his
cup and horn.
The knights
reach a deep,
Cordless river,
but a servant of
the fairy king
appears,
and by striking
the water makes
a path through it.
Huon and his
company pass
along it, and the
river elites in
behind them.
my loue and on iuberdy of thy lyfe / that thou be not
so hardy lio sowne thy2 home / without thou haste
grete nede ther of ; for yf thou do other wyse I auow to
god that creatyd me, I shall leue thee in as grete 4
pouerte & mysere as euer man was / so that who so
euer shulde se the in that case shulde haue pyte of
the ' / * syr,' quod Huon, 4 I shall ryght well be ware
therof / now I desyre you let me departe 9 / 4 1 am 8
content/ quod Oberon, 4 and god be thy gyde.' Than
Huon toke leue of kynge Oberon / and trussyd vp all
his baggage / and dyde put his cuppe in3 his bosome /
& the home about his necke / thus they all tooke there 12
leue of [the] kynge. Oberon4 all wepynge enbrasyd
Huon / who had merueyll why he wept, and sayd,
4 syr, why do you wepe V / 4 frewd/ qwod Oberon, 4 ye
may well knowe / ye haue with you .ii. thynges that I 16
loue derely. god ayde you ; more I can not speke
to you' / thus the .xiiii. knyghtes departyd, and so
they rode forthe a5 .xv. leges or more / thaw they sawe
before them a grete depe ryuer / and they coude fynde 20
no gyde nor passage to pass ouer, and so they wyste
not what to do / than sodenly they sawe passe by
them a seruaunt of kynge Oberon berynge a rodde of
gold in his hande, and so without epekynge of any 24
worde he enteryd in to y* ryuer, and toke his rodde
and strake ye water therwith .iii. tymes / than incon-
tynerct the water withdrew a bothe sydes in suche wyse
that thir was a pathe that .iii. men myght ryde a 28
frount / and that done he departyd agayne without
spekynge of any worde. than Huon and his company
entryd in to the water, and so passyd thorow without
any daunger / 6 whan they were past they behelde7 32
behynde them, and sawe the ryuer close agayne and ran
after his olde course / 4 by my faythe/ quod Huon /
1 Fol. xx. col. 1. 2 they in orig. 8 into.
4 and. 6 about. 0 and. 7 looked.
Digitized by
Ca. xxvi.]
op huon's folly.
79
'I thynke we be inchantyd. I beleue surely kynge
Oberon hath done this / but sene1 we be thus skapyd
out of perel, I truste fro 2hense forth we shall haue no
4 dought ' / thus they rode f orthe to gether synggynge,
and often tynies spake of the grete meruayles that they
had sene kynge Oberon doone8 / and as they rode They ride to a
__ , - fair meadow, In
Huon beheld on his ryght hande & sawe a fayre the midst of
5 medow well garnysshyd with herbes and floures, and dear fountain,
in the myddes therof a fayre clere fountayne. than
Huon rode thether / and alyghtyd and let there horses There thej alight,
4 to pasture / than they sprede a clothe on the grene
12 grase / and set there vp8 suehe mete as kynge Oberon
had gyuen them at there departynge / and there they and eat and
dyde ete and drynke suche drynke as they f ounde in .tor* oberon had
the cuppe / ' by my fay the/ quod Huon, ' it was a giT*M them'
16 fayre aduenture for vs whan we met Oberon, and that
I spake to hym / he hath shewyd me grete tokens of
lone whan he gaue me suche a cuppe / yf I may Hoon declares
. * * . i t i it . that if ever he
retourne in to fraunce m saue garde, I shall gyue it to return to France
20 Charlemayne / who shall make grete feest8 therwith / cup to the
& yf he can not drynke therof the barons of fraunce Emperor*
wyll haue grete ioy7 therof / than agayne he re-
pentyd hym of his owne wordes, and sayde, 1 1 am a
24 fole to thynke or say thus / for as yet I can not
tell what ende I shall come to / the cuppe that I haue
is better worth than .ii. cytyes / but as yet I can not But he mistrusts
beleue the vertu to be in the home as Oberon hath wthafofthT*''
28 shewyd / nor that he may here it so farre of / but what hora*
so euer fortune fall, I wyll assay it yf it hath suche
vertu or not'/ 'A,8 syr,' quod Gerames, 'be ware Oerames warns
what ye do / ye knowe well whan we departyd what make heedless
32 charge he gaue you / sertenly you and we bothe are trU1 ofthem»
loete yf ye trespas his commaundement ' / ' surely,'
quod Huon, ' what so euer fortune fall, I shall9 assay it ' /
1 seeing. * Fol. xx. back, col. 2. 3 doe. 4 goe.
6 on. • ioy. 7 sport. 8 alaa. 9 will.
Digitized by
Google
80
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxvi.
but Huon blows
the horn.
Oberon heart the
blast, and fears
his knight Is
In peril.
With a hundred
thousand men he
approaches Huon.
Huon fears he
has done
foolishly.
Oberon corses
Huon when
he perceives
bis foUj.
Hnon pleads that
the virtue of the
draught from the
cup has led him
into error, and
asks for pardon.
& so toke y* home & set it to his mouthe / and blew it
so loude that the woode rang / than Gerames and all
the other began to synge and to make grete ioy / than
Garyn sayd, ' fayre neuew, blow sty 11* l/ and so Huon 4
blewe styll with suche force that Oberon, who was in
his woode a4 .xv. leges of, herde hym clerely, and sayde,
3< a, very god,3 I here my frende bio we whom I lone
best of all the world / alas, what man is so hardy to do 8
hym any yll? / I wysshe my selfe wt'tn him with a
.CM. men of4 armes'/ incontynent he was nere to
Huon with a .CM. men of4 armes / whan Huon & his
company herde y* hoste comynge, and sawe Oberon 12
com rydynge on before,6 then they were afreyd ; 6 it was
no merueyll / seynge the commauudeme7*t that Oberon
had gcuen them before / than Huon sayd, ' a,7 syrs, I
haue done yll; now I se well we can not escape, but 16
that we be8 lykely9 to dye ' / ' sertenly,' quod
Gerames, 'ye haue well deseruyd it1 / ' holdo your
peace/ qiiod fluon, ' dysmay you not / let me speke to
hym' / ther with Oberon cam to them and sayd / 20
* Huon, 10 of god be thou curssyd,10 where are they that
wyll do the any ylll why haste thou broken my
€o?wmaundement V / * a,11 syr,' quod Huon, ' I shall
shewe you y* trouthe / we were syttynge ryght now in 24
y*12 medow, & dyd ete of that ye gaue vs / I belyue
I tooke to mych drynke out of the cuppe that ye gaue
me / the vertu of the whiche we well assayed / than
I thought to assay 13 also the vertu of ye ryche home / to 28
the entent that yf I shulde haue any nede / that I
myght be sure therof / now I know for trouthe that all
is trew that ye haue shewyd me / wherfore, syr, in y*
honour of god I requyre you to pardon my trespas / 32
14syr, here is my sword, stryke of my hede at your
1 Fol. xxi. col 1. 2 about. 3-s Alas, my friends.
4 at. 6 them. 6 and. 7 alas. 8 are. 9 all.
w-w omitted. 11 Alas. " this. »s trye. 14 else.
Digitized by
Cd. XXVl] OF MAOAIRB, ONE OF HUON's UNCLES. 81
pleasour / for I knowe well without your ayde I shall
neuer come to acheue myne enterpryse ' / ' Huon/ quod
Oberon, ' the bounte and grete trouthe that is in the
4 constreyny th me to gyue the pardon / but beware fro oberon forgive*
hense forth be not so hardy1 to breke my commauwde-
ment.' ' syr/ quod Huon, « I thanke you ' / ' well/
quod Oberon, ' I knowe surely that thou hast as yet Huon hu much
8 moche to suffer / for *thoxi must passe by a cyte namyd He'hSto piua
Tormont, wherin there is a tyrant callyd Macayr, & ^tTuv^lh*
yet he is thyne owne vncle / brother to thy father, H^wL^^r
Duke Seui?* / whan he was in fraunce he had thought to Duke 8evil1'
12 to haue murderyd kynge Charlemayn, but his treason
was knowyn / & he had ben slayne, and3 thy father
Duke Seuyn had not ben / so he was sent to y6 holy
sepulcure to do his penaunce for the yll that he had
16 done / & so after warde there he reuynsyd4 the feythe
of our lord god / and tooke on6 hym the paynyms law / bat ha* now
y* whiche he hath kept euer syns so sore6 / that yf he 01,6
here any man speke of our lord god, he wyl pcrsuaunt
20 him to the dethe / &7 what promys that he makyth, he
kepyth none / therfore I aduyse thee trust not on
hym / for surely he wyll put thee to dethe yf he may / if Huon go
& thou canst not skape yf thoxx go by that cyte / hTwnuurdy
24 therfore I couwseU the take not that way yf thou meet hU death'
be wyse ' / ' syr/ quod Huon / ' of your courteasy, loue,
& good coTisell I thanke you / but what so euer fortune
fal to me, I wyl go to mine vncle / & if he be suche one Huon auertH that
he will oon front
28 as ye say / I shall make hym to dye an yll dethe ; his uncle,
yf nede be I shall sowne my horne, & I am sure at my
nede ye wyll ayde me 1 / ' of that ye may be sure/
quod Oberon / 'but of one tbynge I defende8 the, be Oberon bids
32 not so hardy to sowne the horne without thou be rommandui !n\he
hurte, for yf thou do the contrary I shall so marter ftUure*
thee that thy body shall not endure it ' / ' syr/ quod
1 aa. 2 Fol. xxi. col. 2. 8 if . 4 renounced.
* vppon. • strongly. T looke. 8 forbid.
CHABL. ROM. VI. Q
Digitized by
82
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxvii.
Huon, 'be assuryd your commaundement I wyl not
oberon wdi fare- breke ' / than Huon toke leue of kynge Oberon, who
well, «nd weeps '
for love of Huon, was sory whan Huon departyd / 'syr,' quod Huon, ' I
haue meruayll why ye wepe ; I pray you shewe me y* 4
cause why ye do it ' / 1 Huon/ quod Oberon, ' the grete
loue that I haue in1 thee causyth me to do it, for as yet
who win taiier herafteer thou shalt suffer so myche yll & traueyll /
much misfortune ^ humayn tounge can tell it ' / 1 syr,' quod Huon, 8
' ye shewe me many thynges not gretely to my prof yte ' /
through his own 'sure,' quod Oberon, 'and yet thou shalt suffer more
than I haue 2spoken of, and all by thyne owne foly.'
% How Huon aryued at Tormoat, and found 12
a man at the gate who brought him to
lodge to the prouoste* house in the towne.
Ca. .xxvii.
Fter thai Oberon had shewed huon 16
p i to of that shuld fall to him, & was
departed, Huon & his company then
mounted on ther horses, & so rode
Huon and hu /ZsiMEl^JKi 1 rt,k 80 l°w8e tyll they cam to y* 20
Tormont!rrlV* at cj Lye of tormount. gerames, who had
ben theyr before, when he saw ye cytye he sayd to huon,
' a,3 syr, we be yll aryued here4 / behold here we be in
y* way to suffre muehe troble.' 1 syr,' quod Huon, ' be 24
not dysmayd, for by y* grace of god we shall ryght
well skape / for who that god wyll ayde no man can
hurt.' then they entred into y* citye, &* as they ca?n to
y* gate they met a man wtVh a bow in his hand, who 28
Hnon salutes a had bene a sporti/ige with out y* cytye / huon ryd
thennameofGod" formest & salutid him in y# name of god.6 'frende,
what cal ye this cytye?' / y* man stode styll & had
meruel what men they were tliat spake of god. he 32
1 to. 2 Fol. zxi. back, col. 1. * Alas. « here omitted.
6 and. 6 saying.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxviL] how huon arrives at tormont. 83
behelde them & sayd, 'syrs, ye god in whose name 1ye Theman— him§eir
haue salutyd me kepe & defend thou home in- warm Huon
, . , , . . T j . , against mention-
combraunce / now be it I desyre you, in as myche as ye ing the name of
4 loue your lyues, speke softely that ye be not herd • 004 Und"
for yf y* lord of this citie know that ye be crysten men
he wyll sle you all / syres, ye may truste me / for I am
crystened, but I dare not be knowen therof / I haue
8 such fere of y* duke.' ' frende,' quod Huon, ' I pray
thou shew me who is lorde of this cytye, & what ys his
name ' / ' syr,' quod he, 'he ys a false tyrant, when Maoaire, who hae
. renounced the
he was crystened he was named Macaire, but he hath christian faith, u
12 renounsed god, & he ys so ferse & prowde that as now ordofth6dt7,
he hath2 nothyng so moche as they3 that beleue in ^
Ihem cryst ; but, syr, I pray you she we me whether
ye wyll go.' ' frende/ quod Huon, * I wolde gladly go
16 to y* red see, & from thens to Baby lone / I wold tary
this daye in this cytye, for I & my company are sore
wery.' ' syr/ quod he, '&* ye wyll beleue me ye Huon u advised
shall not entre in to this cytye to lodge / for yf ye <iepart strait*
20 duke know6 it none could aaue your lyues / therfore yf way*
it be your pleasure I shall lede you a nother waye
besyde ye towne.' 'syr/ quod gerames, 'for goddes
sake beleue hym tiiat comweleth you so truly ' / ' know
24 for trouthe,' quod huon, ' I wyll not do thus. I see but he reflates,
well it is almost nyght, the sonne goth low / therfore I
wyll lodge this nyght here in this towne, what so euer
fall;6 for a good towne wolde7 neuer be forsaken/
28 ' nyr,' quod y* straunge man, ' sen8 it is so, for the loue The stinger
of god I shall brynge you to a lodgyng where as ye hTmnto^safcring
shall be well & honestly lodgyd in a good mannes lodging*
house that bileueth in god, named Gonder; he is
32 prowost of the cytye, & well beloued with the duke.1
' frende/ quod huon, ' god rewarde thou.9 soo this man The knights
advance,
wente on before9 through the towne tyl he cam at y*
1 Fol. xxi. back, col. 2. 8 to in text. 8 them. * if.
• knewe. 6 befall. 7 should. 8 seeing. 0 before omitted.
O 2
Digitized by
84 HUON OF BUR DEUX. [Ca. XXYXL
and m« the pro- prouostis house, whome they founds syttynge at his
H^onUiatfi him gate. Huon, that was a fayre speker, saluted hym in
jnUienanwo ^e name of god and 1of the vyrgyn mary.1 the
prouost rose vp and beheld Huon & his company, &2 4
had3 mcruill What they Were, sen4 they saluted hym in
y* name of god ; then 6 he sayd, 'syrs, ye be Welcome,
The provost but a goddes name I desyre you speke softely that ye
•tranger'i be not herde / for yf ye duke of this cytye knew thou? 8
warning ^ ghuld vtterly be lost ; but yf it please thou7 to tary
but offen Huon this nyght here in my house / for y* loue of god / all
and hi. company . , , , f ,
•heiter in hi* that I haue in my house shall be yours to do ther with
at your pleasure. I abandon all to you / and, syr, 12
I thanke god I haue8 in my house that, &9 yf ye byde
here this too yere, ye shall not nede to bye eny thynge
without 1 / 4 syr,' quod Huon, ' of this frayre proffer I
They alight, thanke you;' and soo he & his company alyghted, and 16
there were seruauntes ynow to take ther horses and to
set them vp. then the host toke Huon & Gerames and
yc other and brought them to chambres to dresse.
then10 / theyr11 they came in to the hall, where as they 20
ud table, are set founde the tables set and couered, and soo sate downe
before them. .
& were rychely seruyd with dyuers metys. when they
had done & were rysen, Huon callyd Gerames & sayd,
After they have 4 syr, go in hast in to the towne & get a cryer / & 24
Ge^eThave1*1 make 12 to be cryed in euery merket place & strete, that
fo'ede'thafau who wno 80 euer wolde13 cum & suppe at the prouostes
win may sup house, as well noble as vn noble men, women &
freely at ttie ' '
Sat night?00** chyldren, ryche & poure, and all maner of people, 28
of what estate or degre14 they be of,16 shulde16 come
merely & frely, and no thynge pay, no ther for mete nor
drynke, wherof they shuld haue as they wysshyd ' / and
also he commaunded gerames that all the mete that he 32
could get in the towne, he shuld by it & pay redy
1-1 omitted. 2 he. 8 great. 4 seeing.
6 Fol. xxii. col. 1. 6 this. » you. 8 that.
• & omitted. 10 them. 11 then. 18 cause. 18 will.
14 so ever. 15 of omitted. 18 shall.
Digitized by
Ca. xwiii.] how the provost receives huon.
85
money for y* same. ' syr/ quod Gerames, ' your pleasure
shalbe done/ * &yr,' quod the host, ' ye know well all
that y8 in my house I haue abandoned to you /
4 therfore, syr, ye shall not nede to seke for eny thing His host win not
allow Huon to
ferther ; take of my goodes at your plesure. 1 syr, buy food for the
supper, and offers
quod Huon, 'I thanke you. I haue money ynough to his own stores;
furnysahe1 that we2 nede of 2 / & also, syr, I haue a
8 cuppe of greate vertu ; for yf all y* people that he but Huon says
within this cytye were here present, they shulde haue supply ail that
drynke ynough by reason of my cuppe, ye which was
made 8 in 4 the Fayry4 ' / when the host herde Huon he
12 began to smyle, & beleuyd that those wordes had bene
spoken 6 in iapery* / then Huon, not well aduyseri,
toke the home of Iuorey from his necke & toke it to Huon give* the
provost his horn
his host to kepe, sayenge,6 ' host, I take you this to to keep for Mm.
16 kepe / for it is a prccyous thynge, therfore kepe it surely /
that I may haue it agayne when I demaund it.' 'syr99
quod he, ' I shall surely kepe it, & when it please you
it shall be redy,' & so toke ye home & layed it vp in a
20 coffer / but after fell suche an owre that Huon wolde
haue had it rather then all the good in the worlde, as
ye shall here more here after.
% How Huon gaue a supper to all the pore
24 men of the citye, and how the duke was
vncle to Huon, and how the duke had
Huon in to his Castell. Capitulo .xxviii.
Hus when Gerames had this com-
maundement of Huon, he went in to oemmes does
Huon's bidding.
the cyte / and made to be cryed in
dyuers places as he was commaundid
to do. when this crye was made there
was no begger, vacabonde, nor rybault
1 all. * we and of omitted. 8 Fol. xxii. col. 2.
4-4 Fayry Land. 6— 6 but in iest. 6 mine.
7 Fol. xxii. back, ool. 1.
Digitized by
Google
86
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxviii
Four thousand
poor men come (
the provost's
house.
Gerames bujs
such food m is
required.
Huon's cup
provides sufficient
wine.
Mscsire's steward
comes into the
town to buy food
for his master's
supper.
but all has been
sold to Gerames.
The Duke is told
of Huon's supper.
In anger Macaire
swears he will
▼isit the provost's
house.
iogeler, mynstrell, olde nor yonge / but by grete flockys
they came all to the prouostea house / in numbre moo
then .CCCC. & Gerames bought vp bred, mete,
flesshe, & other vytele*, all that he could fynde in the 4
cytye, & payed for it / thus the supper was dressyd, &
euery man set at the tables. Huon serued them with
his cuppe in his hande, & made euery man to drynke
of that he put out of his cuppe into other pottes, & yet 8
euer the cuppe was full / When y* people had well
eten & drounken the good wynes and were well chafed
in ther braynes, sum began to synge & some to slepe at
the table, & sum bet1 ther fystes on the bourdes that 12
it was meruell to se y6 lyfe that they led, *wher of
Huon had grete ioye / the same tyme the dukes
stewarde cam in to ye towne to by hys maysters
supper / but he coulde no ther fynde bred nor flesshe, 16
nor no other vytelles, wherof he was sore dyspleasyd /
& then he demaundyd the cause why he found no
vytelles as he was accustomed to do / ' syr,' quod the
bochers & bakers, ' in y* house of Gender the prouost 20
is lodged a yonge man who hath made to be cryed in
all the cytye, that all beggers & rybaulde* shulde com
to supp at his lodgynge / & he hath bought vp all y*
vytelles that he culde gete in the towne.' than the 24
paynem in greate dyspyte went to the palayes to the
duke, and sayd / ' syr, I can gete nothynge in y* towne
for your supper; ther is a yonge man lodged in the
prouostes house that hath bought vp all the vytelles to 28
gyue a supper to all the beggers, vacabcrode*, & rybaudes
that can be found in y* towne.' When the duke
vnderstode that he was sore dyspleasyd, & sware by
mahuftde that he wolde goo see that supper / then he 32
commaunded all his men to be redy in harnes to goo
wt'tft hym / & as he was goynge out of his palayes
a traytour who had stolen pr/uely out of the prouostes
1 did beat. > Fol. xxii. back, col. 2.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxviiL] of the poor men's supper.
87
house, where as he had ben at supper with other / he1
sayd to the duke, 4syr, know for trouthe ther is in a traitor comes
t i. l- ■ v v 41. to teU him of the
your prouostes house a knyght who hath gyuen a marreisofHuon's
4 supper to all people that wolde cum thether, & soo ther cup'
is no begger, no rybaulde, nor other that woll2 supe,
but are come thether; and, ayr9 this knyght hath a
cuppe better worth then all this cytye / for yf all the
8 people betwene est and west shulde dye for lacke of
drynke / they shuld haue al ynough, for as often as ye
will empty the cuppe it wylbe full agayne incontynent/
when the duke herd that he had greate meruell, & sayd /
12 Buche a cuppe were good for hym, & sware by mahound
that he wolde haue that cuppe / 4 let vs goo thether, for Macaire resoivea
my wyll is to haue that cuppe. 8all those knyghtes him.
shall lose ther horses & baggage; 4 1 wyll leue them
16 nothinge/ so6 he went fourthe with .xxx. knyghtes, &
re8tyd not tyll he came to the prouostes house &
fouftde the gates open, when ye prouost perseyued The provost sees
x "' the Duke
him he cam to Huon, 6 sayd, 4 a,7 st/r, ye haue done yll ; approach.
20 here is come the duke in grete dyspleasure. yf god haue
not pytye of thou9 I can not se how ye can escape
without dethe/ 4syr,' quod Huon, 'dysniaye ye not,
for I shall speke so fayre that he shall be content/
24 then Huon with a mery chere cam to y* duke & sayd,
4 syr, ye be welcom/ 4 beware/ quod the duke, 4 cum Huon welcomes
him.
not nere me / for no crysten man may com in to
my cytye without my lycence, wherfore I wyll thou
28 knowest that ye shall all lose your hedes, and all that Macaire answers
_ _ , , . , . _ ft , that he will slay
ye brought hether' / 1 syr, quod Huon, ' now* ye haue him and his
slayne vs ye shal wyn therby but lytell ; 10 it were grete knights'
wrong for you so to do/ 4 1 shall tell the/ quod y*
32 duke, 4 why I wyll so do ; that is bycause ye be crysten hecau«e they are
men, therfor thou shalte be the fyrst / shew by11 thy
l he omitted. * would. 8 and. 4 Fol. xxiii. col. 1.
• bo omitted. • and. 7 alas. 8 you. 9 when.
10 and. 11 me on.
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Google
88
huon op burdeuz. [Ca. xxviiL
Huon tolls
Macaire that he
has brought the
poor men together
that they maj
pray for him
hereafter
and invites the
Duke and his
escort to eat and
drink.
He apparently
conciliates him,
and Macaire
consents to snp.
Huon serves him
with fitting
honour.
He offers the
Duke his cup
filled with wine,
but it grows
empty when he
touches it.
Huon angers
Macaire by telling
him that this Is
proof that he has
sinned.
faythe why haste thou assembled all this company here
to supper' / 'syr,' quod Huon, 'I haue done it by
cause I am goynge to ye red see / & bycause these
pore men wyll pray to god for me that I may sauely 4
returne / syr, this is the cause that I haue made them
to suppe with me'/ * a/ 1 quod the duke, ' grete f oly
hast thou, spoken / for thou shalte neuer see fayre daye,
ye shall all lose your hedes ' / i syr,' quod Huon, ' leue 8
all this ; I pray you & your company syt downe & ete
& drynke at your pleasure, & I shall serue you as well
as I can; & then, syr, yf I haue done eny wronge,
I wyll make you a mewdys in suche wyse that ye shall 12
be contente, for yf ye do me eny hurt it shall be to you
but a smale conquest, syr, me thynke yf ye wyll do
noblye ye shulde sumwhat forbere vs, for as I haue
harde say ye were ones crystenyd.' then the duke 16
sayd to Huon, ' thou hast sayd well ; I am content to
suppe, for as yet I haue not supped.1 then the duke
commaundyd euery man to be dysarmyd & to syt
downe at the tabyll / the whiche they dyd / than 20
Huon and Gerames seruyd them, and they were well
seruyd at that supper / 2 then Huon tooke his cuppe and
came to y* Duke, & sayd, ' syr, se you not here this
cuppe, the whiche is voyde and empty V ' I se well.' 24
quod the duke, ' there is no thynge therm.' than Huon
made the sygne of the crosse oner the cuppe, and
incontynent it was full of wyne / he toke y6 cuppe to
the duke, who had grete meruayll therof , and as sone 28
as the cuppe was in his handes it was voyde agayne.
'what!' quod the duke, 'tliou hast enchanted me.'
'syr,' quod Huon, 'I am none enchanter / but it is
for the synne that ye be in / set it downe, for ye are 32
not worthy to holde it ; ye were borne in an yll8 hour ' /
' how art thou so hardy,' quod the duke, ' to speke thus
to me 1 / I repute the for a proude f ole / thou knowyst
* Well. * Fol. xxiii. col. 2. » euill.
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Ca. xxviii.] op the meeting of huon and maoaire. 89
well it lyeth in my power to dystroy the / there is no
man dare say the contrary ; yet I pray the tell me thyn
name, & where thou were borne, and wether thou goest,
4 & of what kynne thou art of/ ' syr/ quod Huon, 4 for
any thynge that shall1 fall to me I wyll not hyde my
name nor kin rede / 2syr,knowe for trouthe I was borne Huon telle hu
name and
at Burdeux vpon Geron, and am sonne to duko seuyn parentage.
8 who ys deed .vii. yere passyd.' when ye duke herd how
huon was his nepheu, he sayd, 'a,3 the son of my The Duke
r ' J recoKnlxo« hla
brother / nepheu, why haste thou taken in this cyte eny nephew,
other lodgiwge but myne? / shew me whether thou
12 wylte goo ' / 4 syr/ quod huon, 4 I am goyng to Babylon Huon declares his
# ^ " v inleilon*
to y* admirall Gaudys, to do to hym a message fro
kynge Charlemayne of fraunce / by cause I slew
his sonne there.' 4 he shewed his vncle all his ad-
16 uenture / & how the kyng had taken awaye his londe,
nor shulde not5 haue it agayne tyll he had done his
message to the admyrall. 'fayre nephew/ quod y*
duke, 'in lyke wyse I was banysshed the realme of
20 Fraunce, & syns I haue renyed6 yc faythe of Jhe$u cryst,
& syns I maryed here in this countrye a grete lady / by
whome I haue grete landes to gouerne, wherof I am
lord. 7nepheu, I wyll8 ye shall go & lodge with me in Macaire invitee
24 my castell, and to morow ye shall haue of my barons to
condute you tyll ye come too babylone ' / 4 syr,' quod
Huon, 4 1 thanke you ; syn it is your pleasure I wyll goo
with you to your palayes.' then Gerames preuely sayd Oenmea adviiee
28 to hym / 4 syr, yf ye goo thether ye may hap9 repent the°p\woe£
your self/ 4 it may wel be/ quod Gonder the prouost.
then huon commaunded to trusse all ther gere & to
make redy ther horses / & toke with hym his cuppe /
32 but he lefte styll his home with the prouost. thus
huon went with his vncle to his castell, & lay there all but Huon &**
nyght / the nexte mornyng Huon cam to his vncle to that night,
1 may. * therefore. 8 a omitted. 4 so. 6 he.
1 denyed. T Fol. xxiii. back, col. 1. 8 that. 8 perhaps.
Digitized by
90
HUON OF BURDEUX. [Ca. Xlix.
and he is induct take his leue / ' fayre nepheu, ' quod the duke, ' I requyre
next dey *
to delay his you tary tyll my barons come thai shall condute you in
departure. . , , . , . , . . _
your lourney.' 'syr, quod huon, 'syn1 it please you I
am content to abyde* / then2 they sat8 downe to dyner. 4
Maoaire plot* the
death of hU
nephew,
and he bidi hie
officer Geoffrey,
a knight from
France,
arm many pagans
to kill Huon.
But Geoffrey
recalls Duke
Sevin's kindnesa
to himself,
and resolves to
protect Huon.
In the castle
prison are seven
soore Frenchmen
taken upon the
% How the duke thought to haue murdryd
Huon, his owne nepheu, whyles he sat at
the table. Capitulo .xxix.4
, Hen this traytor duke saw his nepheu 8
sit at y* table, he called to him a
ight borne in fraunce callyd Geffrey,
who came out of fraunce with y* duke,
& had in lyke wyse renyed5 ye law of 12
cryst, & he was secret with y* duke / then ye duke
pnuely sayde to him, 'frewd, goo & arme ,c or ,vi.
score paynems, & cause them to cum hether / let them
ale my nepheu & all that are cum with him, for if one 16
skape ye shal lese my fauer' / 'syr,' quod Geffrey,
' your wyll shalbe done 1 / then Geffrey went into a
chambre / where as ther was ,cc. harnes6 hangynge;
when he cam there? he sayd to8 him self, 'alas, good 20
lord, this velayne traytour wolde slee y* sonne of his
brother / who when I was in Fraunce dyd me ones a
greate curtesye, for I had bene deed & slayne if duke
seuyn his father 9 had not socouryd me / it is reason for 24
that he dyd10 to me to rewdre agayne sum rewarde to
y*11 sonne / god cowfounde me yf he haue any yll for
me / but I shall rather cause the false duke to bye
derely y* treason that he wolde do to his neuew ' / y* 28
same season there was in y* castell a12 .vii. score pnsoners
of 18 Frenchemen who were taken vpon ye see, & the
duke kept them in prison to y* entent to put them to
1 seeing. s then omitted. 3 them.
4 Chap, xxviii. muprinted in orig. 6 denyed.
6 armours. 7 thether. 8 within. 0 Fol. zxiii. back, ool. 2.
10 then. 11 his. u about
« all.
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Google
Ca. xxix.] of macaire's treachery.
91
dethe ; he was so cruell agaynst all crysten men /but
god, who neuer forgettyth his frendes,1 socouryd them /
this Geffrey went to the presoners2 / & sayd to the
4 prysoners, ' syr,8 yf ye wyll saue your lyues, com out &
folow me ' / than y* prisoners incowtynent issuyd out
of y* pryson & folowyd Geffrey / & he brought them in
to the chambre wher as all the harnes hangyd; he Q^Wnj inu the
pri^OHeM,
8 causyd them all to be armyd / & sayde, 4 syrs, yf ye
haue corage & wyll to issue hense, it is tyme now ye
shewe your vertu ' / * syr/ quod they, ' to dye in the
quarell we shall do your commaundemewt / to com out
12 of boundage in to fredom ' / whan Geffrey hard them
he was ryght ioyouse, & sayd, * syrs, knowe surely that and taut them of
there is here in this palayes at dyner / ye son of duke the todtorou»
Seuin of Bourdeux, & he is neuew to y* duke lord of M*od^i,
16 this hous / who was ones crystenyd, & hath renyed4 y6
feythe of oure lord god *Jhe*u Cryst,6 & he hathe
commaundyd me to cause .vii. score paynems to be
armyd to com & to sle his neuew & all his company.9
20 thus whan they were all armyd & swordes by there
sydes, they folowyd Geffrey to the palayes / & whan They approach
they enteryd / Huon sayd to y* duke his vncle / ' syr, Huon,
these men in hemes that enteryd in to this hall, be
24 they suche as ye haue commaundyd to com hether to
condute me in my iourney?' ' a,6 Huon/ quod y* duke / and the Duke,
4 it is other wyse than thou thynkest / thinke surely to for'SJpa^an6111
dye, there is no remedy / thou shalt newer se fayre day nephew'prepare
28 more' / than he sayde, 4 syrs, steppe forthe, loke that no todii'
crysten man skape you, but let them all be slayne.'
7<f How by the ayde of GeflFrey & of the
prisoners Huo» was socouryd, and slewe
32 all the paynyms, and the duke flede / and
after besegyd the castell. Ca. .xxx.
1 seraants. * Prison. 8 airs. 4 denyed.
*-* omitted. • No. * Fol. xxiUi. col. 1.
92
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxx.
Huon makes
ready for
At Geoffrey's
bidding the
Frenchmen kill
til the pagans in
the palace.
fan
hit uncle, who
and leaping from
a window, rune
from thecaetle.
The Frenchmen
close the gate*
and raise the
drawbridges.
The Duke ooQecte
more than ten
thousand men to
attack the castle.
[an Huon sawe y* malyse of his vncle
& his false treason he was sore
ahasshyd / & rose vp sodenly & set
his helme on his heed, & toke his 4
sword in his hande / than Geffrey cam
in and cryed, 'saynt Denys, ye noble frenchemen, take
hede that no paynym skape alyue, but alee them all
with sorowe' / than1 the frenchemen drewe out there 8
swordys & fought with the paynyms on all partes, so
that within a short tyme they were all slayne / & whan
the duke sawe how they were no paynyms that slew his
men / he was in grete fere of his lyfe / & so flede away 12
in to a secrete chambre / whan Huon perceyuyd that
they were frenchemen that 2socouryd hym, he per-
ceyuyd3 the Duke with his sworde in his hande all
blody with the blode of the paynyms that he had 16
slayne / whan the tray tour 4 Duke sawe that his neuew
so folowyd hym, he fledde fro chambre to 6 chambre tyll
he came to a window openyng vpon the garden syde /
& so lept out there at and ran away, wherof Huon and 20
Geffray and the other frenchemen were ryght sorowf ulL
than they closyd the gates and lyft vp the brygges, to
the entent that they shulde not be taken within /
than they came in to y* halle where as one toke 24
queyntance of an other, where of they had gret ioy /
but yf god had not socouryd them ther ioy had ben
tornyd to sorowe / for ye Duke who was skapyd / whan
he cam in to the towne / he made a crye that as many 28
as were able to here names6 shulde come to hym / so
that he and all that he coude make came with hym
before the palayes, 7 more than .x. M. persons / and
they all sware the deth of the cryaten men within the 32
palayes / whan the Duke sawe 8he had suche9 nombre
1 than omitted, * had thus. 8 pursued. 4 trayterous.
6 Fol. xxiiii. ool. 2. 6 armour. T being.
• that. • a.
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Ca. XXX.] HOW HUON IS BESIEGED IN MACAIRS's CA8TU5. 93
he was ioyfull / 1than he comma undyd his engyns to
be reysyd vp & ladders on euery parte / & ther with
pykes & inattokes they brake downe a corner toure /
4 and the crysten men within defendyd them2 valyauntly / The Frenchmen
make a gallant
Bat there defence shulde* lytyll auayllyd them, and4 resistance,
our lorde god had not 6socoured them / whan Huon area^inatthem.
knew the daunger that they were in he was sore
8 dyspleysyd, and sayde, 4 a, good lord, I ought to be sore
anoyed6 whan I se that we be thus kept in by myne
vncle / I fere me we shall newer se more dayes ' / than
Gerames sayd, 4 syr, for the loue of god blowe now your
12 home ' / 'syr,'7 quod Huon, 4 it is not in my power to Hnon remembers
• t * • • tit now °* &ave ni*
do it / for y* prouoste Gonder hath it in kepynge / 4 ha, bom to the
Huon,' quod Gerames, 'in an yll oure we were aqueyntyd indtherefore
with you / for now by your foly and pryde we are in oSmftr aM.
16 the way of destructyon' / thus as they were deuysyng /
Gonder the prouost cam to the Duke, and sayde, 'syr,
I haue grete merueyll that ye wy 11 thus dysstroy your The provost urges
owne palayes, grete foly ye do therin / syr,8 I wolde psaoe with Suon,
20 counsell you 9leue this assault, 10 & lete there be a pease
made betwene you and your neuew on the condycion to
let hym and his company go sauely away ' / ' prouost/ and the Duke,
accepting his
quod the Duke, ' I praye the go & do the beste that counsel, sends
24 thou kanst. I wyll do as thou doest counsell me ' / 5*th his nephew,
than y* prouost cam to ye palayes & sayde to Huon /
1 syr, for goddes sake speke with 11 me 1 / ' what art thou ? '
quod Huon / 'I am your host y* prouoste / and I
28 requyre you, in as moche as ye loue your lyues, kepe
well this palayes ' / 4 syr/ quod Huon, ' of 12 your good
counsell I thanke you / & I desyre you, for y* loue that On his arrival
before the castle
ye bere me, & in that we wolde helpe to saue my lyfe / Huon begs him to
_ restore the horn,
32 and13 to delyuer me agayne ye home of Iuorey that
I toke you to kepe / for without that I can not scape
1 and. 2 thera&elues. 8 had. 4 if. 6 mightily.
6 agreeued. 7 Alas. 8 rather. • to.
10 Fol. xxiiii. back, col. 1. 11 to. u for. » as.
Digitized by
94
BUON OF BURDBUX.
[Ca, yyxi.
which he does
straightway.
Hnon begins to
sound the horn.
Gerames reproves
Hoon for having
parted with it to
the provost,
and warns him
against blowing
it now,
but Huon will not
listen to him.
Oberon hears the
horn,
and comes to
Tormont with his
armed men.
dethe ' / ( syr/ quod y* prouoste, ' it is not fare firo me 9 /
and so toke it out of his bosome & delyueryd it to
Huon in at a wyndow on the garden syde.
% How kynge Oberon cam and socouryd 4
Huon, & slew al the paynymes except
suche as wolde be crystenyd / and how
Huon slewe the duke his vncle. Ca. xxxi.
Han Huon sawe that he was sessyd* of 8
his home of Iuorey he was ioyfull, the
whiche was no meruayll / for it was
ye 38uerte of his lyfe / than he set it
to his mouthe & began to blowe it / 12
than Gerames sayde / ' A, syr, ye shulde neuer be so
lyght to dyscouer your secretes / for yf this prouoste
had ben vntrew, he myght haue dyscoueryd all your
secretes to the Duke, wherby ye had ben loste and 16
deed / therfore neuer dyscouer your secretes4 / & also,
syr, I requyre you as yet blowe not your horne / for ye
be not as yet hurte / kynge Oberon commaundyd you
so at his departynge ' / 1 why/ quod Huon, ' wyll ye 20
than that I tarry tyll I be slayne 1 surely I wyll blowe
it without any lenger tarryynge ' / and so he blewe it so
sore that the blode came out of his mouth / so that all
that were in the palayes began to synge and to daunse, 24
and the Duke and all suche as were at the sege about
the palayes coude not reste but to synge and to daunse /
than6 kyng Oberon, who as than was in his cyte of
Mommure / sayd, ' a6 hygh a I here my trend Huons 28
horne blow, wherby I knowe well he hath some besynes
in hande, wherfore I wysshe myselfe there as the
home was blowyn with a .C. thousaunde men well
armyd 1 / he had made no soner his wysshe but he was 32
in y* cyte of Tourmont / where as he and his men
1 Fol xxiiii. back, col. 2. * possessed. * only. * more.
• than omitted. • on.
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Google
Ca. xxxii.] of obrron's aid and macaire's death.
95
dewe downe the paynyms that it was meruayll to se obsren and his
men slay all the
the blode ron downe the stretes lyke a ryuer / kynge pagans who
Oheron made it to he cryed that as many as wolde baptised.
4 receyue haptyme theyr lyues shulde he sauyd / so that
therhy there were many that were crystenyd / than
kyng Oberon came to the palayes / whan Huon saw
hym he went and thankyd hyra of his socour at that
8 tyme of nede / ' frende/ quod Oberon, ' as longe as ye
beleue and do my 1commaundementes I shall neuer fayle
to 80coure you in all your affayres ' / thus all that were
in the towne and wolde not beleue on2 god were slayne /
12 than the Duke was taken and brought to the palayes to8 The Duke u
, , . . . , °_ , . „ „ delivered into
Huon / whan he sawe his vncle taken he was loyfull, Huon's hands,
and than the Duke sayde / ' fayre nephew, I requyre
you haue pyte of me' / 'a, vntrew tray tour/ quod
16 Huon / 1 thou shalt neuer departe hense alyue, I shall
neuer respyght thy dethe ' / than with his sworde he
atrake of his vncle hede / than he made his body to be who straightway
' . kills him.
hangyd ouer the walles of the towne / that his ylnes
20 myght alwayes be had in memory, and to be an ensample
to all other / thus that countre was delyueryd fro that
traytoure.
% How kynge Oberon defendyd4 Huon /
24 that he shulde not go by the toure of the
gyaunt / to the whiche Huon wolde not
accorde, but went thether / wherby he was
in grete daunger of dethe / and of the
28 damesell that he founde there who was his
owne cosyn borne in fraunce.
Capitulo .xxxii.
1 Fol. zxiiii. ool. 2. % in.
3 vnto. 4 forbad.
Digitized by
96
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. xxxii.
Oberon takes
leave of Huon,
end foretells
misfortune which
his own folly wiU
bring upon him.
The fairy bids
him avoid the
tower of
Dunother.
For its entrance
is kept by two
men of brass,
always
brandishing iron
within dwells the
giant Angolafert
whom none can
resist.
E haue well2 herd how kyng Oberon
cam and socouryd Huon, & whan all
was done than he sayde to8 Huon, 1 my
dere frende, I wyll take my leue of 4
the / for I shall neuer se the agayne
tyll4 thou hast sufferyd as moche payne & yll and
pouerte and dyseese that it well be herde to declare it,
and all through thyne owne foly ' / whan Huon herde 8
that all6 a frayde &fl sayde / 1 syr, me thynke ye say
grete wronge, for in all thynges to my power I wyll
obserue your commaundeinent ' / ' frende/ quod Oberon,
' sene7 thou wylt do so, remetnbre than thy promes / and 12
I charge the, on8 payne of thy lyfe and lesynge fur euer
my loue / that thou be not so hardy9 to take the way to
the toure of Dunother / the whiche is a meruelous grete
toure standynge on the see syde / Iulius Cesar causyd 16
it to be made / and there in I was longe10 noryssyd;
thou neuer sawest so fayr a toure nor better garnysshyd
with chambers and glase windouse / and with in
hangyd with ryche utapestrey / at the entre of the gate 20
there are .iL men of brasse, eche of them holdynge in
there handys a flayll of Iren, wher with without sesse
daye and nyght they bete by such a mesure / that
whan the one stryketh with his flayll the other is lyft 24
vp redy to stryke / and they bete12 so quyckely 13 / that
a swalow flyyngft can not passe by vnslayn / and with in
this toure there is a Gyaunt namyd Angolafer ; he toke
fro me ye toure and a 14wyght harnes14 / of suche vertu 28
that who so euer hath it on his body / can not be hurt
nor wery / nor he can not be drownyd in no water nor
burnyd with fyre / therfore, Huon, my frende, I charge
the go not that way as myche as thou feeryst my 32
dyspleysour / for agaynst that Gyaunt thou canst make
1 Fol. xxiiii. back, col. 1.
6 being. 8 he. 7
all.
seeing.
3 vn to.
vpon.
* vntill.
10 time. 11 Fol. xxiiii. buck, col. 2. 12 smite.
13 auddainly. 14-14 stroiige armour.
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Google
Ca. xxxii.] how he approaches the tower op dunother. 97
no resystence ' / ' syr,' quod Huon, * knowe for trought
the day that I departyd out of fraunce I toke on1 me /
that any aduenture that 2 1 myght here2 of, though it
4 were neuer so perelous / that I shulde3 neuer eschew it
for any fere of deth / and,4 syr, I had rather dye than Hnon entreats
permission to
to for sake to fyght with that Gyaunt / there is no man approach the
shall let me / &, syr, I promyse you or5 I retourne iH^UMg&t;
8 agayne to conquere your sayd 6wyght hernes6 / it shall
do me good seruyce here after ; it is a thynge not to
he forsaken ; and yf I nede of your ayed I shall hlowe
my home, and ye wytt come and socoure me 9 / ' Huon,'
12 quod Oberon / 'by the lorde that sauyd me, yf thou tratoberon
refuses it,
brekest the home in the blowynge thou shalt haue noo and angers Huon.
socoure nor ayed of me ' / ' syr/ quod Huon, * ye may
do your pleasure & I shall do myne 9 / than Oberon
1 6 departyd without more spekynge / and Huon abode in
y* Cyte, ye whiche he gaue to Geffrey and to the
prouoste his hoste, and all the lond that his vncle
helde / than he made hym redy, and toke gold and
20 syluer plente, and tooke his leue of Geffrey & of his Huon leasee
hoste, and of all other / & so he and his company To^n<mfc,
7 departyd / and so rode ouer hylles & dales nyght and
day a certen spase without fyndynge of any aduenture
24 worthy to be had in memory / at last he came nere to and after a long
journey see* the
the see syde where as the toure of ye Gyaunt was; tower of the giant
whan Huon saw it he sayde to8 his company, ' Syrs, bythe86Mhor6,
yonder I se a toure / the whiche was defendyd9 me by
28 Oberon / but as cod helpe me / or it be nyght I wyll se Huon declares he
/ f -t / i willenterit.
what y8 within it / what so euer come therof / than
Gerame8 behelde the toure and began to wepe,10 & sayd,
' a, Huon, he is a fole that agreeth to ye cou??sell of a Hb eompanione
, , , . deplore hie follj.
32 chyld. syr, for godes sake beware that ye breke not
the commaundement of kynge Oberon, for &11 ye do
1 vpon. *-2 might be heard. 3 would. 4 therefore added.
6 ere. •— • stronge armour. 7 Fol. xxv. col. 1. 8 vnto.
9 forbidden. 10 sorow. 11 if.
CHARL. ROM. VI. U
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98 HUON OF BURDEUX. [CfL XXXii.
grete yll is lyke to come to1 you* / 'syr,' quod Huon,
'yf al the men now lyuynge shulde deffend2 me to go
nut the imight thether, I wolde not obey them / for ye knowe well I
replies that he has I J
come to »eek departyd out of Fraunce for none other thynge but to 4
ad venture*.
serche the straunge8 aduentures. 4 1 demaunde no thynge
elles but to fynd aduentures / therfore speke no more to
the contrary / for or6 I slepe I wyll fyght with the
Gyaunt / for though he be more harder then Iren, 8
6 1 shall sle hyra or he me, and you Gerames, and all the
other / abyde you here in this medow tyll7 I retourne
agayne.' ' Syr,' quod Gerames, all8 wepynge / ' it sore
dysplea^yth me that it wyl be no better, therfore 1 12
Hnon takee leave recommauwde you to1 the sauegard of god ' / thus Huon
of his company,
departyd and left his company / petuosly 9 complaynyng/
Huon armyd hym 10 and so tooke his way / and kyst all
and alone on foot, hys men one after another / & toko with hym his horne 16
carrying hie cap
and horn, and cuppe / so al alone an fote he went forth, and
he reaches the restyd not tyll7 he came to the gate of the castell of
castle of J J °
Dunother. Dunoster. than11 he saw .ii. men of brasse that without
seasynge bet with there flaylles / he behelde theym well, 20
He seeks to avoid and thought it was in a maner impossyble to enter
the two men of ° r J
hrass with their without deth / 12 than he had greate meruayll, and sayde
flails of Iron, ' °
to hym selfe12 / howe kynge Oberon had shewyd hym
18 the trouthe, and thought without ye ayde of the grace 24
of god it were impossyble to enter / than 14 he behelde
and sees a golden all about yf there were any other entre16 / at last he saw
basin tied to a J * '
marble pillar. nere to a pyller of marbell a basyn of gold fast tyed
with a cheyne / than he aprochyd nere ther to and 28
Thru* he strikes drew out his sworde, wher with he strake thre grete
and the sound of ' strokes on the basyn / so that the sounde ther of myght
sebyikT* dTmsei well be harde in to the castell / within the toure there
fcrtnlss"**1 ln was a damesell called Sebylle / whan she harde the 32
1 vnto. 2 forbid. 8 strangest 4 and. * ere.
8 yet 7 vntill. 8 in. • heauily. 10 himself. 11 there,
ii— is Then he began to consider hereon with himselfe.
13 Fol. xxv. col. 2. 14 whereuppon.
16 place to enter.
Digitized by
Ca. xxxii.] how hk enters the castlb. 99
basyn sowne / she had grete raeraayll1 / than she went to
a wyndowe / and lokyd out and saw Huon that wolde sebyiie sees Huon
from a window,
enter, than2 she went hake agayne & sayde, ' a, good and fears that the
I lorde, what knyght is yonder without that wold enter ? / him* -UJ
for yf the Gyaunt awake anone he wylbe slayne / for yf
there were a .M. knyghtes to gether they shulde 8sone
be dystroyed suerly. I haue grete desyre for4 to knowe
8 what he is and where he was borne / for as me semyth
he shulde be of Fraunce to / know the trouthe I wyll
go to y* wyndow5 to se yf I may haue of hym any
knowlege* / than she went out of her chawbre, and
12 went to a wyndow nere to the gate / and lokyd out she go* to a
and sawe Huon all armyd abydynge at the gate / than the gate,06*'
she behelde the blasure of his shylde, wherin was frolnhu^hJeid
purtruyed .iii. crosses go wiles 6 / wherby she knew wel u fromVranoT'
16 he was of Fraunce. ' Alas/ quod she, ' I am but lost
yf the Gyaunt knawe that I haue ben here ' / than she
retournyd agayne in hast, & went to the chambre dore
where as the Gyaunt lay and slept, and she parseyuyd she finds that
20 he was7 a slepe, for he rowtyd that it was meuayl to as*eep*ntil
here / than she retournyd agayne quykely to the gate ;
than8 she9 openyd a wycket, out of the whiche there and therefore
issuyd suche a wynde that it causeth y* two men with wTcketwhich*11*
24 there flaylles to stonde styll in rest / whan she had bra^to rtand at°f
openyd the wyket hastely she retournyd in to her repairs again to
chambre / 8 whan Huon sawe the lytyll 10 wyket open he horchamber-
auaunsyd hymselfe & enteryd, for the two men wttA J*"0"^^
28 theyr flaylles were in rest / than he went forthe,11 wicket,
thynkynge to fynd them that had openyd the wyket,
but he was sore abasshed when he coude fynde no bntmarreietosee
no liring creators
creature / there were so many chambres that he wyst within.
32 not wheder to goo to fynde that he sought for / thus he
■erehed all about / 8 at last he sawe aboute a pylier
1 thereat. ' whereuppon. 5 all. 4 for omitted.
6 againe. 8 of gould. T yet s and.
• she omitted. 10 Fol. xxv. back. col. 1. " further.
H J
Digitized by
100 huon of burdeux. [Ca. xxxii.
Rat he notice* the .xiiii. men lye deed / wher of he had grete meruayll /
dead bodies of
fourteen men. and sayd that he wolde retourne backe agayne. than
u> return, he went out of the hall and came to the gate, wenynge
but finds the to haue founde it open. But it was closyd by it selfe, 4
wicket cloeed end
the men of br«M and the men agayne1 bet with there flay lies. 'Alas/
again in motion. Huon, * now I se well I can not skappe fro
sadly he walks hense ' / than he retournyd in to the castell & harkenyd,2
through Uie
castle, and as he went serchynge aboute3 he harde the voyce of 8
Totoeofadamaei a damesell peteously wepynge /he came there as she
andgoe* to her. was, & humbly salutyd her, and sayd / ' fayre damesell,
I can not tell yf ye can vnderstonde my langage or not /
know of you I wolde why4 ye make this grete sorow.' 12
He meet* her, ' Syr/ quod she, ' I wepe by cause I haue of you grete
and she tells him
of his danger. petye / for yf the Gyaunt here within, who is5 a slepe,
ha,p cgo to wake,6 ye are but deed and lost.' ' Fayre
lady,' quod Huon, 'I pray you shew me what ye be, 16
and where ye were borne.' 'Syr,' quod she, 'I am
doughter to Guynemer, who in his tyme was erle of
she is, she says, saynt Omers, & am nese to duke Seuyn of Burdeux ' /
a niece to Duke
setin. whan Huon harde that ryght humbly he kyssyd her, 20
and sayde / 'dame,7 know for trouthe8 ye are my nere
kynse woman / for I am sonne to duke Seuyn ; I pray
you shew me what aduenture hath brought you in to
she had this castell.' 1 Syr,' quod she, 1 my father had deuocyon 24
fa^erto^Hoiy to se the holy sepulcure / & he louyd me so well that
sepulchre, ^e W0\&Q not ]eue me behynd hym / & as we were on
and on their the see nere to the Cyte of Escalonee in Surrey, there
sh^pwVecked'on* rose a grete tempest in9 the see / so that y* wynde 28
casUer*1 brought V8 10 nere to 11 this castell /and the Gyaunt beynge
The gUnt had in his toure, sawe vs in greate daunger of drownyng,
ar^iiadTiain aii and that we were dryuyn in to this porte / he came
but ^4 spared"' downe out of his palayes and slew my father and all 32
herself. them that were with hym except my selfe, & so
1 did. 2 aboute. * carefully. 4 wherefore.
6 yet. to awake. 7 Madame. 8 that
• vpon. "> Fol. xxv. back, col. 2. 11 vnto.
Digitized by
Ca. xxxiiL] op sebylle his cousin.
101
brought me in to this toure, where as 1 liaue bene this Ha had kept her
captive for •even
.vu. yere *and neuer harde one masse1 ; & now, cosyn, years.
I pray you what aduenture hath brought you hether in
4 to this straunge countre 1 ' ' Cosyn/ quod he, ' sen2 ye
wyll knowe of myne aduenture / I shall shew you the
trouthe / kynge Charlemayn hath sent me in message Huon teiis
to the admyral Gaudyse in Babylon / I here hym a on his way to
8 message by mouthe & by letters / and as my way lay I
am come by this toure / and I demaundyd of a paynym
who was within this toure, and he answeryd me and
sayd how here shulde be a grete and an orryble Gyaunt
12 who hath done myche yll3 to them that hath passyd
this way, and I thought to passe this way to fygbt but wui now fight
with hym and to4 dystroy hym, and to delyuer the giant,
countre of hym / & I haue lefte my company hereby in
16 a valye to tary for me' / ' dere cosyn,' quod she, ' I
haue grete meruayll that ye wolde take on you suche a Hb cousin wam»
*rf him that five
foly / for yf ye were . v.C. men to gether well armyd, ye hundred men
could not conquer
durst not all abyde hym yf he were armyd with his her cruel matter,
20 armure / for none can endure agaynst hym / therfore,
cosyn, I counsell you to retourne backe agayne or he do »nd bid* him
wake, and I shall open you the wyket so that ye shall came,
passe out without5 daunger.'
24 % How the damesell, cosyn to Huon, shewed
hym the cha/wbre where as the Gyaunt
slept / and how he went and wakyd hym /
and of the good armure that the Gyaunt
28 delyueryd to Huon. Capitulo .xxxiii.
rHan Huon had well vnderstonde y*
damesell, he sayd, 'cosyn, know for Huon begs
_ „ permission to see
trouthe, or7 I departe hense I wyU se the giant.
what man he is / it shall neuer be
sayd to my reproche in ye conrte of
1 in great distresse and miserie. ' seeing. { euill.
4 to omitted. 6 anv. 6 Fol. xxvi. col. 1. 7 ere.
Digitized by
Google
102
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxxiii
Sebylle directs
him to the giant's
chamber,
and advises him
to kill the
monster while
asleep.
Huon declares
he will not be
guilty of each
treachery.
Huon finds,
the giant lying
on a richly
furnished bed.
any pry nee / that for fere of a1 myscreaunt I shulde be
of so faynt a courage that I durst not abyd hym /
certenly I had rather dye than such a faulte shuld
come to ma' 'A, cousyn/ quod she, 'then I se 4
wel both you and I are dystroyed / but sen2 it ys
thus, I shaU shew you the chainbre where as he
slepeth / and whan ye haue sene hym yet8 ye may
retourne / fyrst go in to this chambre tAat ye se here 8
before you, wherin ye shall fynde bred and wyne
and other vytayll / & in the nexte ye shall fynde
clothes of sylke and many ryche iuelles / than in the
thyrd chambre ye shall fynde the .iiii. goddes of y* 12
paynyms, they be all of fyne massye gold ; and in the
fourth ye shall fynde the Gyaunt lyeynge a slepe on a
ryche bed ; than, syr, yf ye 4beleue me,4 I wolde counsel
you to stryke of his hede slepynge / for yf he awake ye 16
can not skape without deth/ 'Dame/6 quod Huon,
' and god wyll it shall neuer be 6layde to my reproche6 /
that I shulde stryke any man with out defyaunce.' 7
Than Huon departyd fro the lady, his sword8 in his 20
hande and9 helme on his hede, and his shylde aboute
his neke, and so enteryd in to the fyrst chambre, & so3
in to the secounde & thyrd, where as he saw the .iiii
goddes. When he had wel regardyd them he gaue 24
eche of them a stroke with his sworde / & than he
enteryd in to y* chambre where as the Gyaunt lay
slepynge / Huon 10 regardyd hym myche10 / and the bed
that he lay on, the whiche was so ryche / that ye valew 28
therof coud not be prysyd / y* curteyns, couerynge / &
pelous were of suche ryches that it was grete beaute to
beholde them. Also the chambre was hangyd vrith
ryche clothes 11 and the flowre coueryd with carpette* / 32
whan Huon had well regardyd all this, & well aduysyd12
1 any. 2 seeing. 3 then. *— 4 were of my mind.
6 Ladie. °— 6 said to my disgrace. 7 his knowledge.
8 being. 9 his. 10~10 noted him aduisedly.
11 Fol. xxvi. col. 2. 12 considered of.
Digitized by
Ca. xxxiil] how huon wakes thb giant. 103
the Gyaunt, who was .xvii. fote of leugthe, & his body Ha was seventeen
fornishyd therafter, & al his other membres ; but a MeoM*aepect.f
more fouler and hydeous creature was neuer sene / with
4 a grete hede, &1 grete eeres, & a camesyd nose / and
eyen brynynge2 lyke a candell. 4 A, good lorde/ quod
Huon / 4 1 wolde kynge Charlemayn were here to se vs
two fyght / for I am sure than or3 he departyd my
8 peace shulde be made with hym. 4 A, swete vyrgyn Haonappeaia
mary,4 I humbly requyre the to be 6medyatryx to thy twi^ YlTgin for
swete sonne / to be5 my socoure agaynst this ennemye /
for yf it be not his6 pleasure agaynst hym I can not7
12 endure.' Than Huon ferslye auansyd forth & made y*
sygne of the crosse / castynge in his mynde what he
myght do / for he thought that8 yf he slew hym slepynge
it shulde be a grete reproche to hym, & shulde9 be sayd
16 that he had slayne a man deed / and than10 he sayd to
hym selfe, 4 shame haue I yf I touche hym or I haue
defyed hym1 / than Huon cryed out alowde & sayd, and than anoute
to the giant to
4aryse, thou hethen hounde, or11 I shall stryke of thy ariae,
20 hede ' / whan the Gyaunt hard Huon speke / he awoke who awake* in
fersly, & behelde Huon, & so12 rose vp so quykely that addrea*e» Huon
in French.
in the rysynge he brast13 the bedstede that he lay on14 /
than he sayd to Huon / 4frende, they that sent the
24 hether louyd the but lytyll nor doughtyd not me.' And
whan Huon harde the Gyaunt speke frenche he had
grete meruayll / and sayd, 4 1 am come hether to se
thee I & it may be so that I haue done foly ,15 / than
28 the Gyaunt sayd / 4 thou sayest trouthe / for yf I were
armyd as thou art .v C. men suche as thou art coude
not endure16 / but that ye17 shulde all dye. But thou
seest I am nakyd, without sworde or wepyn, yet for all Naked as he la,
32 that I dough t the not* / Than Huon thought in hym £nJht.*Uyth#
1 and omitted. 2 burning. 8 ere. 4-4 Lord god.
*-* omitted. 6 thy good. 7 no while. 8 that omitted.
9 it would. 10 whereupon. u else. 12 so omitted.
18 brake. 14 vpon. 16 it unaduiaedly.
18 me. 17 they.
Digitized by
104
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxxiiL
selfe that it shulde1 be2 grete shame to hym to assayle
Huon oourteomiy a man without arraure or wepyn / HIhii* he sayd, ' go
arm for fight and arme the, or incontynent I shall slee the' / 'frende,'
quod the Gyaunt, ' this that thou sayest procedeth of a 4
good courage and of courtesy e.' Than he armyd hym
and tooke in his hande a greate fauchon, & Huon was
The monster rises withdrawen in to the palayes abydynge for the Gyaunt /
and comes to
uuon armed. who taryed not longe, but came to Huon / and sayde, 8
' what art thou ? / beholde me here redy to dystroye the
without thou make good defence / yet I desyre the tell
He asks him who me what thou art, to thentent that I may, when I haue
he is,
slayne tliee, tell how I haue slayne suche5 one that by 12
his foly cam to assayll me in myne owne palays / greate
pryde it was in thee that thou woldest not stryke me or6
and is somewhat I was armyd, 7 who so euer thou art thou semyst son to a
moved by Huon's
gentle behaviour, noble man. I pray the shew me whether thou woldest 16
go, and what mouyd the to come hether, to thentent
that I myght knowe the trouthe of thyn enterpryse,
that whan I haue slayne the I may make myne anaunt
to my men that I haue slayne suche a man / that 20
thought scorne and dysdayne to stryke me or6 I was
armyd. ' 'Paynym/ quod Huon / 'thou art in a grete
foly whan thou8 reputyst me but9 deed. But sen10
Huon tells his thou wylt11 knowe ye trouthe / I 12 she we to the I12 am 24
8t°ry' a poore knyght / fro whom kynge Charlemayne hath
taken his18 londes and banyshyd me out of the realme
of Fraunce / and hath sent me14 to do a message to the
Admyrall Gaudys at Babylon / & my name is Huon, 28
sonne to duke Seuyn of Burdeux / now I haue shewed
and inquires all ye trouthe of myne enterpryse / & nowe I pray the
adversary. tell me where thou wert borne, and who engenderyd
the, to thentent that whan I haue slayne the I may 32
make myn auaunt in kynge Charles courte and before all
1 would. 8 a. 3 Fol. xxvi. back, col. 1 . 4 wherefore.
6 a. 8 ere. 7 but 8 so rashly. 9 for.
10 seeing. 11 wouldst. ,s~la omitted.
13 mv. 14 for.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxxiiLJ of the armour that the giant possesses. 105
my Ireiides that I haue slayne such a greate meruelous 1
Gyaunt as thou art/ Than the Gyaunt sayd, ' if thou
slee me thou mayest well make thyn auaunt that 2 thou
4 hast slayne Galaffer3 the Gyaunt, who hath .xvii. The giant snjs he
bretherne, of whome I am the yongest. Also thou an^iuh^ianT
mayest say that vnto ye drye tree and to the red see / £^MbaUiXJ
there is no man but is trybutayr to me / I haue
8 chasyd the admiral Gaudis, 4 whether as thou woldest
go,4 and haue taken fro hym by puyssaunce dyuers of He has robbed
his Cytyes / and he doth me yerely seruage by the aamiysseofmauj
sernyce5 of a rynge of gold to by his hede with all. ******
12 Also I toke fro Oberon6 this puyssaunt toure, that for *nd oberon or the
a tower in which he
all nis encnauntynge and fayrye coude not resyst me / now lives,
aud also I tooke fro hym a ryche harnes7; thou neuer and of a suit of
hardest of suche an nother, for it hath suche vertue that
1 6 who so euer can put it on hym8 / can neuer be wery nor which renders its
dyscomfytyd. But there is therin9 another10 vertue / his parents have
for he that must were that harnes must be without spot Tuvuinerabie'
of deedly synne, and also his mother must be without
20 carnall copulasyon with any man except. with her11
husbonde / I beleue there can not be found any man
that may were this harnes.7 Also it is of suche vertue
that who so euer hath it on his body can not be greuyd
24 nother with fyer nor water. By mahound I haue
prouyd it / and bycause I haue founde such courtesye
in the that thou gauest me leue to arme me / I12 gyue He permits Huon,
the leue to assay e yf thou canst put on that harnes.' 7 courtesy, to
28 13 Than ye Gyaunt went to a coffer and tooke out it5n?pttoput
the harnes,7 and came to Huon and sayd / * lo,14 here
is the good harnes,7 I gyue the leue to assaye to put
it on thy body.' Than Huon tooke the harnes7 and
1 maruaylous greate. 8 Fol. xxvi. back, col. 2.
• Angolofer. *— 4 to whome thou saiest thou goest
6 tender. • the Fayrie King. 7 armour. 8 omitted,
9 in it. 10 especial 1. 11 owne. u will.
13 in regard I know that neither thou nor any knight else
can be able to doe it. 14 see.
Digitized by
106
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxxiii.
went backe a lytell / and dyd1 of his owne armure /
Huon finds he i» and tooke 2 the sayd harnes2 and incontinent dyd
able to wear the
armour. it on his body / thaw hastely he dyd1 on his
holme, and tooke hys shelde and his3 sworde in his 4
hande / and deuotely thanked our lorde god of his4
grace. Than the Gyaunt sayd / ' by mahounde / I had
lytell thought thou hadest ben suche a man / that
harnes5 becomyth the6 well ; now 7 1 haue quyt the thy8 8
The giant begs courtesye that thou shewydst me / therfore I pray the
hlra to return it _ . . _ 111 .. 1 , « , 1 1 1
again, put of ye harnes,5 and delyuer it me agayne / 8 * holde
thy tounge,' quod Huon ; 1 god confounde the, it is nede
for me to haue suche armure9 / kno we for trouthe I 12
but Huon refuses, wyll not render yt agayne for .xiiii. of the best cytyes
betwene thys and Parys ' / ' frende,' quod the Gyaunt,
Gaiafre is ' sen10 thou wylt not render me agayne the armure, I am
and bids Huon content to let thee departe quyte11 without12 hurte or 16
HeTromises hira domage / and also I wyll gyue the my rynge of golde,
also a golden ring, ^e wniche the admyrall Gaudysgaue me / for I knowe
well it shal13 stonde the in good stede yf thou thynkest
which can alone to f urnyshe thy message / for whan thou comyst to the 20
Mtryhto°the,a * gate of his palays, and say how thou art a messenger
ffSaJy1onPJRlace sent fro kinge Charles / thou shalt fynde .iiii. gates, and
at euery gate .iiii. porters / so that at the fyrst gate, yf
it be knowe n thou be a frenche man, one of thy handes 24
shal be cut of / and at the seconde gate thy other
hande / and at the thyrde gate one of thy fete / and at
y* fourth the other fote / and than shalt thou be
brought before the admyrall, and there thy hede stryken 28
of / and therfore, to scape these parelles and to
furnysshe thy message, and to thentent that thou
mayest surely retourne / gyue me agayne my harnes,6
1 put. *— 2 that belonging to the Gyant.
8 his omitted. 4 this great. 6 armour. 6 exceeding.
7 Fol. xxvii. col. 1. 8 thy omitted.
9—9 'Not so, sir, by your leaue,' answeared Huon; 'this
armure is meeter for me than such a Hel hound as thou art,
therefore.'
10 seeing. 11 hence. 12 any. 13 will.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxxiv.] how huon dons the giant's armour. 107
and I sbal gyue the my rynge of golde / the whiche but before he give
• tii i *l *llm once
whan thou shewyst it thou shalt he reseyuyd vrith more begs Huon
grete honour at euery gate, and than thou mayest goo armour.
4 and retourne surely in 1 the palays at thy pleasure, and
no man to let the / for yf thou haddest slayne ,v .C.
men there shalhe none so hardy2 to touche the nor to
do the any yll yf thou hast this rynge vpon8 the / for
8 whan I haue nede of men or mony I can not lacke yf
I sende this ryng for a token / therfore I pray the let
me haue agayne my names.'4
% How Huon slew the grete Gymnt I and
12 how he called Gerames & his company to
hym, & of y* ioy thai they made for the
deth of 5 the Gyaunt. Ca. xxxiiii.
.Han Huon vnderstode ye paynym he
1, 'A, thou fel & false deseyuer, Huon reproaches
know for trouthe yf all ye prechers twa2heiry,Wlth
hetwene ye Est & the west preched J^chaUengM
to me a hole yere, & that thou woldest
20 gyue me al that thou hast, & thy rynge ther with, I wolde
not render agayne the good harnes4 that is now on my
body / fyret I shall6 sle the, & than as for thy rynge that
thou praysest so 7 sore, than7 I wyl8 haue it, whether thou
24 wylt or not' / whan ye Gyaunt had well harde Huon,
& sawe that he9 in no wyse coude gette agayne his
harnes,4 he was than sorowfull / and also10 he sawe how
Huon reprouyd hym / therwitft he was so sore dys- The giant grow*
28 pleasyd that his eyen semyd like .ii. candelles byrn- *ng,7,
ynge11 / than he yet demaundyd of Huon yf he wold
do none other wyse. 'no, trewly/ quod Huon, 'though
thou be greate & stronge / I haue no fere of ye, sen12'
32 I haue on this good harnes,4 therfore in the name of
1 to. 8 as. 3 about 4 armour. 6 Fol. xxvii. col. 2.
• omitted. 7-7 much. 8 likewise. 0 he after wyse.
10 because. 11 burning candels. 12 seeing.
Digitized by
108
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxxiv.
Mid the fight
begins.
Galafre's first
stroke misses its
aim, and his
weapon is fixed
fast in a pillar.
While he tries
to release it,
Huon strikes oh
his hands.
The giant cries
aloud and flees
before the knight.
Sebylle, roused
from her chamber
by the shouting,
meets Oalafre
running, and
flings a staff
between his legs,
so that he (alls.
Huon comes up
with him
and strikes off
his head,
which is so
heavy that he
cannot lift It up.
god & of his deuyne puissaunce I defye the' / ' & I
the,' quod1 Gyaunt / ' for al 2thy harnes2 thou, canst not
endure astaynst me ' / than ye Gyaunt aprochyd to
Huon & lyft vp his fauchon, thynkirtge to haue stryken 4
Huon3 / but he fay led ; 4ye stroke glent, & the fauchon
lyght vpon a pyller & enteryd in to it more than .ii
fote / than Huon, who was quycke & lyght, behelde5 ye
meruelous stroke, quyckly he6 stept forth with Lis 8
good sword in his handes, regardyng how the Gyaunt
had his fauchon stycking fast in the pyller / he strake
ye Gyaunt on both y* armea nere to his handea in such
wyse that he strake of both his handes, so that they 12
with ye fauchon fell downe to the erth / whan y*
Gyaunt felt hyr~ selfe so sore hurte, for7 payne therof
he gaue a meruelous crye, so horryble as though all y*
toure had fallen to ye erth, werof ye dameseli Sebyll, 16
beyiige in her eharabre, was sore abasshyd / she went
out of her chambre & founde a staffe by the way. She
toke it vp in her handes, <fc came to the palays where
as she harde y* 8 crye, & met ye Gyaunt fleyng away 20
to saue hyselfe / but ye dameseli well adusyd whan
she sawe tlmt he fled / she caste ye staffe betwene his
leges, so that therby he fell to y* erth / & Huon, who
came alter hym with his sworde in his hande / he hastyd 24
hym, & gaue y* Gyaunt many a grete stroke / & the
Gyaunt cryed out so hye that it was 9grete meruayle9 to
here hym / than Huon lyft vp his sworde & gaue hym
suche a stroke in the necke that his hede flew to the 28
erth ; than Huon wypyd his sworde and put it vp in10
the sheth ; than11 he cam to y' hede, thinkynge to haue
taken it vp 11 to haue set it on the heyght of ye
toure / but the hede was so grete & heuy that he 32
coude not remoue it nor tourne his12 body ; than
1 the. 2-3 the armour.
6 beholding. 6 omitted. 7 with.
very terrible. 10 to.
3 him. « for.
8 Fol. xxvii. back, col. 1.
11 and. » the.
Digitized by
Cil. XXXV.] OF THE DEATH OF QALAFRE, THE GIANT. 109
he 8myled & sayd, 'A, good lorde, I thanke y* of
thy grace 1to haue1 gyuen me ye puyssaunce to sle such
a creature ; wold to god that this body & hede were
4 now in the palays of Parys before Charlemayne,
kinge of fraunce, so that he knewe that I haue slayn
hym ' / than Huon went to a wyndow & lokyd out & From a window
' . . 1,1 i , o Huon call, to hie
sa w where his company were / than he sayd to them, a2 company.
8 hye, 1 syrs, come vp heder ; ye may do it surely, for this
palays is wonne / and ye Gyaunt slayne* / whan Gerames
&3 Garyn & the other harde that they were ioyfull &
thanked our lorde god / than they cam to ye gate / &
12 sebyll, y* damesell, went thyder & openyd y* wycket, Seby iia ^oiMsna
wherby the enchauntement fay lied / than they enteryd t°
6 foolowyd ye damesell, who brought them in to ye
palais to Huon. 4 whan they saw hym they all wept for
16 ioy / & enbrasyd & kyssyd hym, & demaundyd yf
he had any hurt / ' syrs,' quod Huon, ' I thanke god I HuonteiiaM*
J ' J ' 1 ' ° friend! how hi la
fele no hurt ; ' & than he brought them there6 as y6 unhurt
gyaunt lay deed / whan they saw hym they had
20 meruayle how he coude be slayne by Huon ; they were
afrayed to se hym lye deed / than Gerames demaundyd
of Huon what was the damesell that was there / than*
Huon shewyd how she was his cosyn, & shewyd them
24 all y* maner how she cam theder, wherof they had
greate ioy & enbrasyd her / than they all vnarmyd
them6 & went to supper, & ete & dranke at there andthajmp
together merrily.
7 pleasure / but there ioy enduryd not longe, as ye shall
28 here8 after.
How Huon departyd fro the castell of
the Gyaunt, & toke leue of his company &
went alone a fote to ye see syde, where as he
32 fouflde Malabron of that9 fayre, on whom
he mountyd to passe the see. Ca. xxxv.
1-1 that thou hast % on. 3 & omitted. 4 and. 6 where.
6 selues. * Fol. xxrii. back, col. 2. 8 heare. 9 the.
Digitized by
110
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxxv.
E haue hard here before how Huon
conqueryd ye Gyau/zt, the which was
grete ioy to al his company / than the
next day Huon called 1 al his company 1 4
& said, ' syra, ye know well ye enter-
prise that I haue taken on me to do touchi/ige y*
admyrall Gaudys / therfore it is corzuenyent that as
shortly as I can to do my message that I am chargyd 8
Huon wds hia by kinge Charles to do to y* admyrall Gaudys, wherf ore
company remain
with the damsel I desyre you al to kepe good and trew company with
while lie proceed* this noble damesell / & also I requyre you to tary
ir h^TOmes not me here .xv. dayes, & than yf I retourne not go 12
dHJ a theyareau you al in to fraunce, & take this noble damesel with
France™ t0 vou> & salute fro me kinge Charlemayn & all the peres
of fraunce, & shew them the hard aduentures that I
haue had, & how I am gone to performe hys message '/ 16
whan his company vnderstode that he wolde departe
they were sorowfull, & sayd / ' syr, ye desyre vs to
tary you here a .xv. dayes / knowe for trouthe we shal
They declare they tary here fore you an hole yere.' ' syrs/ quod he, ' I 20
w ill tarry for him J J J J * ^ '
a whole year. thanke you ' / than he made hym redy to departe, &
armyd hym, & tooke his cuppe & home, & also y*
Gyaunte* ringe, the whiche he dyd2 put aboute his
arme / & than he kyst his cosyn & al ye other / and 24
they all made gret laraentasyon for his departyng /
than they went vp in to ye palais & lokyd out at y*
wyndowes after Huon as long as they myght se hym /
Hnon take* leave Huon went forth tyll he cam to the se syde, ye whiche 28
or them,
and goes to the was not farre f ro ye castel, & there was a ly tell hauen
where as al waves8 lay sum maner of shyppe or
wessell to passe ouer y* see / & whan Huon cam
thether 4 he had grete meruayle, & sayd,4 ' A, good 32
them all together. * did.
8 was wont to.
*—* though nowe at this instant there was none at all.
Finding no means for passage, be said.
eeaahore.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. XXXV.] op obbron's strange messenger to huon. Ill
lorde, what shal I do thai I can fynd here no bote He sees no vessel
to take bim across
nor1 vessell to passe in? / alas, in an yll owre I slewe these*,
* Chariot, wherby I am8 in daunger ; howbeit I dyd it in
4 4 my 4 defence : grete wronge5 kiwge Charles hathe done and lament* his
hard fate,
to banyshe me out of myne owne countre ' / grete6 com-
pleynte* made Huon there, beynge alone, & began sore
to wepe / & 7 sodenly on his ryght hande he saw a grete when he sees an
8 be est come swymmyng towards hym / lyke a beer / swimming
Huon behelde hym & made on his hed8 a sygne of y*
crosse / & drew out his sword to defende hym selfe,9
thynkyng ye beest wolde haue assayled hym / but he
12 dyd not / but went a lytell of fro Huon, & shoke hym
selfe in such wyse that his skyn fell of, and than he whose skin fails
m o - _ , _ off and reveals a
was as fayre a man & as well fourmyd as coude be handsome man.
seen / than Huon had grete fere & meruayle / whan he Hnon It stricken
16 saw that this beest was become a man,10 he aprochyd asks him who1"*
nere to hym, and demaundyd what he was, & whether he he *"*
were an humaine creature or elles an yll speryt that was
come theder to tempt hym / & sayd, ' ryght nowe thou.
20 dydest swym in y* see, & trauesyd ye grete waues in
gyse of a meruelous beest ; I charge thee in ye name of
god11 do me no hurt / and7 shew me what thou art / 12I
beleue thou art of kynge Oberons company ' / ' Huon/
24 quod he, ' dysmay thou not, I knowe the ryght well ;
thou art sonne to 18 y* noble18 duke seuyn of Burdeux /
noble14 kynge Oberon hathe sent me to thee / ones The man replies
15 1 16 brake Ids commaundement, wherfore he hath con- sent htm, and
28 dempnyd me to be this .xxx. yere lyke a best in y* w^ai^taa0'
see.' ' frond/ quod huon, ' by ye lorde that fourmyd me fa 50 for thirty
I wyll trust tJiee tyll I be passyd y* red see ' / ' Huon/ Jh~^.beMtof
quod Mallabron, ' knowe for trouthe / I am sent hether
32 for none16 other thynge17 / but to bere the wheder as18 He is to bear
' _ , Hnon whither
thou wylt / therfore make ye redye / & recommaunde he win.
1 or. 8 Fol. xxviii. col. 1. 8 thus still. 4—1 mine owne.
6 therefore. 8 These and the like. 7 but. 8 himselfe.
• as. 10 yet 11 thou. u for. w-18 omitted.
14 Royall. u it happened me to. 16 no. 17 cause.
Digitized by
112
HUON OF BURDEUX. [Ca. XXXVL
His name it
Malabron.
He enter* the tea
and sesames
Huon leape on hie
back and travels
swiftly up the
Nile.
At length he
reaches land.
Malabron says
that to serve him
he will have to
remain a sea-
monster for ten
years longer.
thy selfe to ye saue garde of oure lorde Ihesu Cryst, &
than let me alone ' / than Mallabron enteryd agayne in
to ye beestys skyn / & said to huon / ' sir, mount on1
my backe.' 4
% How Huon passyd ye see vpon Mallabron,
who bare hym to Babylon / & how Huon
cwn to y° fyrst gate, & so to ye .ii.
Ca. .xxxvi. 8
Han Huon saw y* beest enter agayne in
to his skyn, & that he taryed for2 /
he made y* signe of the 8crosse. And
prayed god to saue & condute hym, & 1 2
so lept vp on hym ; & ye beest enteryd
in to ye see, & swamme as fast as though a byrd had
flowyn, so that witJi in a shorte spase he trauessyd y*
grete ryuer of Nile, the whiche coramyth fro paradyce, 16
the4 whiche is a daungerous ryuer for the grete6 multy-
tude of serpents & cocodrylles that be ther in / how
be it there were none that dyd hym any trouble / than
whan they caw to lond, Huon was joyfull / than4 20
Mallabron sayd / ' ryght derely shall I abye the tyme
that thou wert borne, or that euer I knewe the ; for
thentent to do the pleasure I shal endure yet .x. yere
lyke a beest in the see, & .xxx. yere I haue8 so all 24
redy, so that7 is in al ,xl.8 I haue grete pyte of thee /
for there is no maw borne of a woman that knoweth y*
yll & pouerte that shall fall here after to thee / & I shall
suffer myche for the loue that I haue to thee ; howbe it 28
I shal take it in pasyence / yonder thou mayst se y*
cyte whether ^ou woldest go, morouer, thou knowyst
what hath ben commaundyd thee / & what thou hast to
do, & yet what so euer fall, breke not ye cowmaunde- 32
vpon.
1 him. 3 Fol. xxviil col. 2.
6 omitted. • been. 7 my time.
4 and.
yeeres.
Digitized by
Ca. xxxvi.] op huon's arrival at babitlon.
113
ment of kiwge Oberou / & alwayes be trew & say ye He warns Huon
to obey Oberon's
trouthe, for as sone as thou makest any ly thou shalt command, and
, . - . „ never tell a lie.
lese1 the loue of kmge Oberon / thus god be with the, for
4 I may no lenger tary ' / thus2 he went agayne in to the
see, & Huon taryed there alone, recommaundynge hy?w-
selfe to our lord god, & so toke the way to the cytye / Huon goes toward
, , 0 the city of
& so3 enteryd in without let of any maw : as2 sone as Babylon,
8 he was enteryd, he met a .M. payne?Ms goynge a hawk- and meets many
ynge / & a nother .M. comiwge homwarde / & a .M. oonntry on their
several errands.
horses let to be new shode / & a .M. corny nge fro
shoynge / than he sawe a .M. men plaing at the chesse
12 & a nother .M. that had played & been matyd /
& a nother .M. talkircge & deuysinge with the4 dame-
selle* / & a nother .M. comiwge fro drinking of the
admyralles wyne, & a nother .M. goiwg thether / whan
16 huon al armyd had gone a grete spase in the cyte he
had grete meruayle of that he had seen &5 met 6so
myche 6 people / 7 he studyed theron so mych that he The knight
m . .m , i o .i , studies the
forgot the gyaunte* rynge on his arme / & the men that strangers* aspect,
20 he mett had grete meruayle 8 of hym to se hym go al gTant^rmg.1116
armyd a fote / 9 he went styll forth.10 Alas, y*11 vnhappy
Huon, that coulde not remembre the Gyaunte* rynge
aboute hys arme, for lake of remewbraunce therof /
24 he suflferyd after so myche trouble that ther is no
humayne tounge can tell it, as ye shall here12 after. At
last he cam in to a grete plase before ye fyrst gate of The first gate of
the palays, where as there stode a grete vyne tree set reached?8 U
28 vpon brycke pyllers of dyuers coulours, vnder ye
whiche y* admyrall Gaudys one day in the weke wolde
come thether, & wold gyue audyence to al sewters.
whan Huon had regardyd al this / he cam to ye fyrst and Huon caiu to
° J ' J J the porter to
32 gate of y* palays ; than13 he cryed to ye porter & sayd / open it.
1 loose. 8 So. 3 there. 4 omitted. 6 that he had.
such multitude of. 7 And. 8 Fol. xxviii. back, col. 1.
9 and yet 10 forward. 11 poore. 12 here.
13 and there.
CHARL. ROM. VI. I
114
HUON OF BUR DEUX.
[Ca. xxxv i.
In answer to the
man, Huon says
he is a Saracen,
and thus gains
admission.
When he comes
to the second
gate, tiie knight
bethinks him of
the lie he has told,
and how he has
broken Oberon's
command.
To the second
porter he shows
the giant's ring,
and is at once
admitted,
and to the keeper
of the third gate
he does the same,
and
' frende, I pray the open the gate.' than 1 the porter sayd
with a good wyll / ' yf thou be a sarazyn thou shalt
enter.' Than Huon as vnaduysyd, 2 without2 thinkynge
on kynge Oberons co?nmaundement, or of y45 gyaunte* 4
ri?ige about his arme, the whiche yf he had shewyd
forth he shold not haue nedid to haue made any ly.
Han huon3 harde the paynym demande
whether he were a sarasyn,4 he sayd, 8
' ye ' / than the porter sayd, ' than
may ye surely enter* / so Huon
passyd the fyrst brydge & gate /
and whan he came to the seconde he remembred hym 12
selfe how he had broken kynge Oberons commaunde-
ment / wher w/t& he was so sorowfull at his herte that
he wyst not what to do, and sware than that he wolde
neuer lye more / than he toke the rynge in his hande 16
and came to the secounde gate, and sayd / to the
porter, 'thou vylayne, he that on the crosse dyed6
confounde the / open this gate / for I must enter ' /
whan ye porter harde hym speke so fersly, he sayd / 20
4 how is it that the fyrst porter was so hardy to suffer
the6 to enter in at the fyrst gate? ' * I shall shew the,'
quod Huon / ' seest not thou this rynge, the whiche is
a token that I may passe and go where as me lystT / 24
whan the porter harde hym and saw the rynge, he
knewe it well, & sayd, 'syr, ye be welcome / how
f ayreth y* lord 7 that ye come fro 1 ' Huon, who wolde
not lye, passid the brydge and gaue no answer, & so 28
cam to y* thyrd gate / 8 the porter came to hym, and
Huon shewyd hym the rynge / than ye porter lette
downe the brydge and openyd the gate, and with greate
reuerence salutyd Huon and sufferyd hym to passe / 32
whan Huon was thus passyd the thre br[y]dges, than he
1 And.
8 hee had.
2-2 and forgetting himselfe, and not once.
4 or no. 6 died after that. 0 omitted.
7 Fol. xxviii. back, col. 2.
8 where.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxxvii.] how huon passes through the pour gates. 115
remembred how he had made a lye at the fyrst bridge /
and sayd to hymselfe, ' Alas I what shall become of Huon fears
_ . iiii^ i Oberon'a wrath.
me, sen 1 1 haue so lyghtely broken my promys to hym
4 that hathe done so myche for me 1 / alas ! I forgat y°
ring that was aboute myne arme. how be it, I trust
that Oberon wyll not be dyspleasyd for it, sen1 I dyd it
not wylfully, but that I forgat it / I trust he wyll take
8 no more regarde to this dede then he dyd whan I blew
the home without any cause ' / thus Huon passyd the
thre gates of the palys.
% How Huon passyd ye fourth gate, & how
12 he cam in to the garden, where as was y6
foutfteyne, & of that2 he dyd there.
Ca. .xxxvii.
» Haw Huon saw3 he was4 passyd the .iii.
16 jfllltfll^ftlf gat€£, he passyd5 ye fourth gate Wl'tft Huon reaches the
ye rynge in his hande / for he mette °urt
vfith no man but that6 dyd hym
honour whan they saw ye ryng / than
20 he sayd to ye fourth porter, * thou vylayne porter, 7god
curse thee,7 open the gate ' / when ye porter harde hym
he had grete meroayll / & sayd, ' what art thou that
art armyd & spekest so fersly to me ? Lay away thyne
24 armure, & thaw shew me what thou art, & whether
thou wylt go / for, armyd as thou, art, it is not possyble
for thee6 to enter / shew me by thy fayth how hast
thou passyd ye .iii. other brydges ' / than Huon sayd,
28 'holde thy peace, paynym. I am a messenger sent fro Hetciiahowhe
haa come from
noble kynge Charlemayne / & whether thou wylt or Charlemagne,
not, I wyl passe this way & go to y* palays to ye
admyrall Gaudys / there is nother thou nor none
32 other caw9 let me. beholde this tokew that I shew
thee.' the paynym knew it anone, and lete down
1 seeing. 2 which. 3 that. 4 had. 6 went on to.
• still. 7—7 I charge thee foorthwith. 8 omitted. 8 shall.
I 2
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Google
116
and at the sight
of the ring the
porter opens
the gate.
The man says
that the Admiral
will receive Huon
right royally
when he sees
that token.
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxxvii.
Huon goes
onwards,
reproaching
himself with the
lie he told at the
first gate.
He enters the
Admiral's garden.
In its midst was
a fountain which
cured the sick
and made the old
young again.
1the bryge, and openyd the gate, and kneled doune
& kyssyd & enbrassyd Huons2 legge / desyrynge
hym of 3 pardon in that he had causyd hym to tary so
long / ' paynym,' quod Huon, ' good day mayst thou 4
haue.' 'Syr/ qiiod the porter, 'ye may go to the
admyrall, who wyll make you good chere & grete
honour, nor4 there is no thynge that ye can desyre but
it shalbe grauntyd to5 you / ye, & 6 it be his all onely 8
doughter, for loue of y* lorde fro whom ye brynge this
rynge to4 a token ; and, syr, I requyre you how doth
the lord Angalaffer? comyth he hether or not?'
' porter/ quod Huon, ' yf he come hether, all ye deuyles 1 2
of hell must brynge hym hether ; ' & therwith he passeth
forth without any mo wordes / but he sayd to hym
selfe, ' a, good lorde Ihesu Cryst, helpe & ayde me in all
my besynes / I was temptyd with an yll7 spryte whan 16
I made a8 lee at ye fyrst gate / I dyd it by lyghtnes of
courage and4 lake of remembraunce, wherof I am now9
ryght soiye 1 / Huon thus beyng in dyspleasure wtt/<
hym selfe for the lye that he10 made, went forth tyll 20
he came to the palays, and enteryd in to a fayre garden
wherin the admyrall tooke often tymys his pastaunce,11
for there coude no tree nor freute nor flower be wyshed
for but ther they myght be fouwd, both in soraer & 24
wynter / & in the myddes of this garden there was a
fayre founteyne co?«mynge out of ye ryuer Kile that
commyth from paradyce, the whiche founteyne as tha?*
was of such vertue / that yf any sycke man dyd drynke 28
therof, or wasshyd his bandes & face,12 incontynewt18
shulde be hole / & also yf a man had bene of grete age
he shulde retourne agayne to the age of .xxx. yere /
and 14 a woman14 to become as freshe & lusty as a mayde 32
of .xv. yere / this founteyne had that vertue15 ye spase
1 Fol. xxix. col. 1. 2 his. 8 of him after pardon. 4 for.
6 vnto. • if. 7 euill. 8 the. • omitted. 10 had.
18 he. 14-14 old women. u by.
11 pastime. 12 therin.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxxvii.] of his arrival before the palace. 117
of .lx. yere / but .x. yere after that Huon had ben
there that1 was dystroyed and broken by y® Egypsyence,
who made warre to2 the admyrall thai was as than in
4 Babylon. 8 And whan Huon had wasshyd his handes Huon washes his
o „ 0 . . hands and drinks
& face in y* founteyne, & dronke of ye water / he of the fountain,
behelde the palays, & thought it meraellously fayre /
& whan he had well regardyd it, he saw a lytell besyde
8 the founteyne a grete serpent, who kept the founteyne, which is kept by
a serpent that
to the ente?it that none snulde be so hardy to drynke destroys ail false
nor4 touche the founteyne / for yf a traytore or any man
that hath falsyd his fayth dyd touche it he coude not
1 2 scape wt'tAout deth / but whan the serpent saw Huon,
he inclynyd hymselfe without makynge of semblant to But it does not
do hym any yll / than5 Huon sat downe by the foun- touch 11,6 knight*
teyne & began 6peteously to wepe,8 & sayd, 'a, good
1 6 lorde, without thy socoure it is impossy ble for me to
departe bense alyue. A, noble kynge Oberon, forsake Huon prays to
r . Oberon for help,
me not now in this nede / for the trespas that I haue
done ought to be forgyuen me, sen7 I dyd it neclygenly
20 for lake of remembraunce / certenly I wyll knowe yf
for so small a cause ye wyll leue me / wherfore, what
so euer fall, I shall proue & assay to know ye trouthe ' /
than he toke his home & blewe it so fersly / that kynge and Mows his
24 Oberon harde it, beynge in bis forest / & whan he hard The fairy hears it,
it he sayd / ' A, good lorde/ 6 quod he,5 ' I here the false wmnotrawow
knyght blow his home, who settyth so lytell by me / £m lied? h*
for at the fyrst gate that he passyd8 he made a false
28 lye / by ye lorde that formyd me, yf he blowe tyll ye
waynes in his neke 9brest a9 sonder, he shall not be
80couryd for me / nor for no10 maner of myschyefe that
may fall to hym/ Than Huon, beynge in ye garden,
32 blew so sore 11 / that ye admyrall, who was set at his The Admiral and
' * * ' his attendants
dyner, rose fro ye borde with all his lordes / & al hear the blast
1 it. 2 on. 3 Fol. xxix. col. 2. 4 or.
6 omitted. greeouslye to lament. 7 seeing.
" *A 11 lowde.
Digitized by
118
HUON OP BURDEDX.
[Ca. xxxvii.
while at dinner other ladyes & dameselle8, knyghtes & squyers / boyes
within the palace, '° i * / *
and begin to & squylyons of ye kechyn / & all other came in to y*
dance and eing. paiaya ^ yC admyral, & began to damwe & synge &
made grete ioy. the sorer1 that Huon blew his home, 4
y6 more they daunsyd & sange. And whan Huow left
blowynge, than ye admyrall called his barons & com-
The Admiral maundyd them to be armyd / and sayd, 2 ' syrs, go in
aaterte that some ,.J , „ / / J ' \ ' °
enchanter ha« to this gardyne, for suerly there is sum enchaunter / 8
into the garden, therfore take hede that he skape not, and brynge hym
aervanu And him alyue to me, for I wyll know of hym the cause why he
Into ^"presence. na^h done this dede / for yf that he eskape he shall3 do
vs more yll* / whan Huon had blowyn a longe spase 12
and saw no body come to hym, he was sore abasshyd.4
than he began to wepe,5 and sayd, * A, good lorde god,
now I se well myn ende aprocheth, when kynge
Meanwhile Huon, Oberon fayleth me, in whom I haue all my trust in lyfe 16
perceiving Oberon
wm not listen to and deth. A, dere lady mother, & brother Gerardyn, I
grieve* overhia shall neuer se you more. A, noble kynge Charle-
deeertion. mayne, grete wrong ye haue done to me thus to
banyshe me with out deserte / for that / that I dyd, 20
was in my defence / god forgyue it you. A, kynge
Oberon, well thou mayest be reputyd for an vnkynde
creature, thus to leue me for on smal faulte. certenly
yf thou be a noble man I hope thou wylt pardon me / 24
at leste I put all to god, & to hym I submytte me 6&
to the blyssyd vyrgyn niary his mother.0 And what so
euer fall, I wyll enter in to the palayes and do my
message that kynge Charlemayn hath commaundyd me 28
to do ' I so he made hym redye and departyd fro the
founteyne / thynkynge he shulde fynde the admyrall
at dyner at that owre.7
1 more. 2 Fol. xxix. back, col. 1. 3 will. 4 and.
h lament. omitted 7 time.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxxviii.] how huon first essays to fulfil his mission. 119
% How Huon came in to the palayes and dyd
his message to the admyrall / & how he
slew many paynyms / and1 after2 taken
and set3 in pry son. Ca. xxxviii.
Han Huon had ben a certen spase at
the f ounteyne / he departyd all armyd
& mountyd vpe the grese4 of the Huon at length
mounts the steps
palayes the same tyme the admyrall leading into the
palace.
had causyd .ii. of his priwcypall
goddes to be set in ye myddes 5 of the palayes, rychely
besene,6 & before them two grete torches byrnynge7 / so
12 that no sarasyn passyd by them but made to them
grete reuerence / and8 Huon passyd by them and wolde
not ones loke on them, nor speke to no man that he He speaks to no
i i m .* i i no -i ro»n as he walks
mette / wherof they had9 grete meruayll, & sayd in.
16 one to another, so that Huon10 harde them / 11 one of
them sayd,11 ' I beleue this man that12 thus enteryd in
to ye palayes all armyd is sum messenger sent fro sum
greate prynce to ye admyrall ' / & than Huon sawe a Bea^e tbe^
20 paynyra kynge" spekynge to ye admyrall / &12 was paynimking,
newly come to y* admyrall, by cause that same day y"
admyrall Gaudys shulde haue delyueryd to hym his
doughter, y* fayre Esclaramonde, in maryage / & Huon who has come to
woo the fair
24 saw wel how he was ye gretest prynce that as than was Esciarmoude.
there witA ye admyrall / thaw Huon sayd to hymselfe,
' A, good lorde, yf I acquytte my selfe trewly to kiwge
Charlemayn / I must slee this paynyn kynge / I
28 thynke it be he that I loke for, sen13 he syteth so nere
to y* admyrall / god confound me but incontynewt I
ustryke of his hede / 16 thaw let our lorde Ihesu Cryst
do with me at his pleasure ' / than Huon came nere to
32 ye table / & drew out his sword, & there with gaue 16 the
1 was. 8 afterward. 3 put.
6 Fol. xxix. back, col. 2. 6 adorned. 7 burning.
8 but. 9 all. 10 easily. omitted. ™ who.
13 seeing. 14 will. 16 and. 16 Fol. xxx. col. 1.
Digitized by
120
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xxxviiL
Huon draws his
•word and strikes
off the monarch's
head.
The Admiral
orders Huon's
arrest.
He is attacked on
all sides, but his
armour protects
him.
He shows the
ring to the
Admiral,
who, on seeing it,
bids no man lay
hand on the
knight,
and tells him he
may do in his
palace what he
will.
Huon kisses
Ksclarmonde
thrice,
sayd kynge suche a stroke that his hede fell on the
table, so that the admyrall was therwith all blody.
Thaw Huon with a hye voyce sayde, 'A, good lorde,
what a good begynnynge is this / the rest I remyt to 4
our lorde Ihe*m Cryst, whom I requyre to ayde me to
parforme ye reste of myne enterpryse / in this poynt I
haue nere quytte my selfe agaynst kynge Charlemayne.'
Than the admyrall sayd to his barons / ' take this man 8
that hath done me this offence as to murder this kynge
syttynge at my table / yf he escape, loke me neuer in
the face ' / than the paynyms assay Uyd Huon on all
sydes, and cast at hym &axtes & swordes to haue slayne 1 2
hym. But his good hemes 1 sauyd hym fro the deth /
& with his sworde he slew many a fell2 paynym, so
that none durst aproche nere hym / whan he saw that
he was sore opressyd, he tooke his rynge3 of his arme 16
& cast it on the table before the admyrall, & sayd /
* syr admyrall, be ware on payne of thy lyfe of doynge
to me any hurt or domage, by this token that I shew
the * / whan the admyrall saw the rynge, he knew it 20
well / than he began to crye / that no man shulde be
so hardy as to touche hym that hath slayne the paynym
kynge / than4 euery man let Huon in rest / wher of he
was ryght ioyfull / than he sayd to y' admyrall, 1 Syr, 24
I wyll fro hense forth5 thou do as I cornmaunde thee ' /
' frende,' quod the admyrall, ' thou mayst do in my
palayes what thou wylt / what soeuer thou commaunde
shalbe done, no man shall say the contrary.' Than 28
Huon saw where his doughter, ye fayre Esclaramonde,
sat by her father ; thaw4 Huon went to her / & kyst her
.iii. tymys before her father, wher of6 the damesell was
sore abasshyd ; but she saw hym so fayre, & felte his 32
mouth so swete / that she thought, without she myght
haue hym to her louer, she sholde dye for sorow / so
that she chaunged couloure & blusshyd as ruddye as a
1 armor. 2 bolde. 3 from. 4 and. 6 that. 6 at
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xxxviii.] op the admiral's wrath on hearing huon. 121
rose / 1 whan Huon had kyssyd ye lady / thaw he we?it
to the admyrall, & sayd / 'syr admyrall, know for Misaddressing
J ' i .the Admiral, says
trouthe2 I am crystenyd / & am a messenger sent fro that cimriemagne
✓Ml 1 1 hj,S 86111 ,,im»
4 noble kynge Charlemayne to the / by cause there is no
prynce, crysten nor hethen / but that obeyeth his
commaundenietttes, except thy selfe, therfore by me he
sewdeth thee worde / that sen3 the dolowrous day of and nniese the
8 batayll at Konceuall,4 where as he lost his .ii. neueWSG / him fealty and
Rowlaunde & Olyuer, he neuer sens assembled so the Em^rorwin
myche people as he wyll do this next somer to come htm Vmfa P°"
vpon thee, both by water and by londe, without thou
12 wylt beleue in ye law of Jhesn Cryst; therfore, yf thou
wylt beleue me, be cristened or5 this myschiefe6 fall
vpon the.' « Speke no more of that* quod y* admyrall / The Adminu
' for I had rather be hewen and slayne than to leue rchrisUai^001"6
16 my law to7 beleue vpon thy god.' 'Syr admyrall/
quod Huon, 'more ouer kyng Charles co?wmaundeth Huon teiis him
all else that
y* to sende hym an .M. sparhawkes, 8.M. goshawkes, Charlemagne
8.M. beeres, & a .M. wayters enchaynyd together ; 8.M.
20 yonge varlettes, 8.M. fayre dameselles / and also a
handfull of thy berde, & .iiii. of thy grete teth.' ' A,'
quod y* admyrall / 'I Be thou arte hardy & outragyous
to demauwd of me this that thou hast sayd. And also
24 I haue grete raeruayll of thy mayster that he is so
foolysshe9 to commauwde me by thee to send hym my
berde & grete teth /or10 this tyme he hath sent me mo Tho Admiral
_ _ . warns Huon that
than .xv. messengers, & hath demaundyd parte of this11 fifteen envoys
28 thou spekest of / but all .xv. hath ben hangyd, &12 mawn^h^ik*1™
thou art come by thy foly, ushalt make13 the .xvi. But havo
by reason of the ryng that thou, berest we dare not J^},.*1 hlB
touch thee. But I pray the,14 by the fayth & law that
32 thou art of, shew me what dcuell hath gyuen thee that
rynge ' / than Huon, sore abasshyd as he that dorst not
1 Fol. xxx. col. 2. 2 that. 3 since. 4 Ronceuaux.
5 else. 6 will. 7 and. 8 a. 9 ay. 10 before.
u that. 12 nowe. l3— 13 to make up. 14 therefore.
Digitized by
122
HUON OP BURDBUX
[Ca. xxxviii.
seize Huon.
A fierce fight
takes place.
Huon sets his
back to an arch
in the wall and
defends himself
like a wild boar.
make a lye, for fere of kynge Oberow, sayd / * str,1 for
dought of the, nor2 of no3 pay new here, I wyl not
spare to shew the ye trouth. know well4 tJiai wiHi
this good sworde I haue slayn ye lord Angolaffer ye 4
gyaunt* / whan 5 the admyrall harde that, he sayde to
his lordes, ' Syrs, loke that this ribauld6 skape not,
for by al the goddes that I beleue on, I shal neuer haue
ioy in my herte tyll7 I se hym taken.' Than paymyms 8
and sarasyns on all partes assaylled Huon / whan he
saw that, he recommaundyd hym selfe to our lord god ;
he8 thought he shulde neuer se fayre daye more / and
so with his sworde in both hys handes he defendyd 12
hym selfe nobly in sleynge and cuttynge of handes /
armes / and fete / of the sarasyns, & of maney he made
the braynes to fly abrode on the payment. Grete orrour9
it was to behold / for by reason of his good harnes10 16
there was no paynym coude do hym any domage / but
they gaue hym way, nor durst aproche nere hym.
Huon beynge full of yre, as he fought, he sawe on the
one syde of the palayes an arche in the wall, & so, euer 20
styll fyghtynge, he drew thether, & set his backe to the
arche, to thentent that none shulde come behynd hym /
there he faryd lyke a wyld bore in y* wood, & de-
fendyd hymselfe in suche wyse, that whom so euer he 24
towchyde with a full stroke, had no nede after of any
surgyon / thus along spase Huon enduryd, & had no
grete domage.11 But the force of ye paynymes was so
grete that it was not possyble for hym to susteyn 28
longe / &12 he waxyd so wery that his strokes fleblyde /
often tymes he called apon god 13 & on the vyrgyn
mary13 / & on the other parte the admyrall cryed to his
men & sayde, * a, ye feynt hertyd knaues,14 greate shame 32
it is to you all that one man shall so longe endure
1 not 2 or. 3 any. 4 then. 6 Fol. xxx. back, col. 1.
6 villaine. 7 vntill. 8 and. 9 terrour. 10 armour.
11 harme. 12 for. 13— 13 omitted. 14 slaues.
Ca. XXXix.] OF THE CAPTURE OF HUON BY THE PAYNIM8. 123
agaynst you all,1 that ye can nother take hym nor sle
hym* / than the paynymes, whan they harde the
admyrall so dysprayse them / they came in a grete rage
4 all at ones vpon Huon, where as he was alone vnder
the arche. than a paynym who was neuew to the
admyrall, cam vpon Huon; 2 whan Huon saw hym
aproche, he lyft vp his sworde & gaue 3 the paynym 4 on Hesiaysthe
8 the helme4 suche a stroke that he claue his hede to the nephew,
brest, and ther with his sworde fell out of his handes /
and another sarasyn tooke it vp / than all the sarasius Huon is at length
_ _ _ . overcome by
at ones ran vpon Huow, & tooke hym, and so5 tooke weariness, and \%
1 2 fro hym his home and cuppe, and dyd6 of his harnes7 /
whan he was vnarmyd, the sarasyns behelde hym well,
and many sayde how they neuer saw so fayre a man
before, affermynge that yf al frenche men were such as
1 6 he is,1 there were no kircge able to resyste them.
% Of the grete compleyntes that Huon made
beynge in pryson / and how the adrayralles
doughter caw to coraforte hym / & how she
20 departyd not well content with Huon.
Capitulo .xxxix.
Han Huon was dysarmyd, y° paynews He is brought
tooke & brought hym before the
Admiral, who asks
, hi i . • t n i his barons what
admyrall, who was ryght loyfull whan punishment he
he sawe Huon, and called his barons, 8hould 8Uffer'
8 and demaunded of them what dethe
the caytyff shuld dy that had done them suche domage
28 as to sle one of his moste puyssauwt kynges, and also
his nepheu, besyde many other, then they all answered ah are in favour
r J J " of immediate
with one voyce, that he shulde be slayne all quycke9 death,
incowtynent / then stept fourth an olde auncyent
1 omitted. 2 but. 3 Fol. xxx. back, col. 2.
*-* after stroke. 5 then. 6 put. 7 armour.
8 Fol. xxxi. col. 1. 9 aliue.
Digitized by
124
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. xxxix.
except an aged
councillor, who
reminds the
Admiral that on
this dny.according
to their law, none
ought to die at
their hands, and
advises that
Huon should be
respited for a
year.
The old man
asks whether
Huon ought not
to be thanked for
the death of the
giant Angoiaffer
(Galafre).
Huon is led off to
prison.
He reproaches
Oberon.
admyrall of .vi. score yeres of age, and1 was of the
admyralles preuy councell, and2 sayd, 1 sir admyrall, ye
may not do thus for the loue of this good day, the
whiche is of ye fest of saynte Iohnw / accordyng to our 4
law, ther ys none ought to dye on that day / but, syr,
respyhgt his lyfe for a hole yere, the which3 shalbe
the fest of your goddes : on that day ye ought to de-
lyuer .ii.4 Champyons to do with them your sacrefyce ; 8
lett this man be one / and another shall5 come be
that tyme ; and whiche of tho .ii. champyons be ouer
come, ye shall make your sacrefyce to your goddes
of hym ; thus ye promysed your goddes to do the fyrst 12
day that ye toke on you the sygnyory of Babylone /
and, syr, yf it were not for that this man hath slayne
one of your kiwges & your nephew, ye ought not to slee
hym, but rather to thanke hym / for by hym the man 16
6 in the worlde6 that ye ought moste to hate is slayne,
that 7 was the gyant7 Angoiaffer, for8 now by his deth
ye are out of all seruytude and bondage, and by hym9
sett at lyberte ' / when the Admyrall gaudis had well 20
herde the paynem, he sayd, 'sen10 it is so that ye gyue
me this counsell / and that of ryght myne aunseters
hath11 acustomyd the same, I wyll not do the contrary,
but it shall be as ye haue sayd/ then was Huon led 24
with .iiii. paynems to a darke preson, & the Jayler
was commaunded to gyue hym mete & drinke suffycyewt /
when Huon saw how he was in preson, he was ryght
sorowfull, and began to remembre the noble duches hys 28
mother, and Gererde his brother / and sayd, ' a, Oberon,
how is it that12 thou art soo vnkynd & outtragyous to
me / for so ly tell 13 14 offence to suffer me16 endure this
greate mysery, for I knowe well it is not vnknowen to 32
thee that the offence that I haue done was but alonely16
3 and then.
1 who. 2 he.
after hate. 7-7 is.
10 seeing. 11 haue euer.
14 Hoi. xxxi. col. 2.
4 .xi.
may.
8 and. 9 this man.
12 omitted. 13 an.
w to. w only.
Digitized by
Ca. xxxix.] how esclarmonde has pity on him.
125
by forgetfulnes.' Now lett vs leue spekynge of Huon,
and speke1 of the fayre Esclaramonde, doughter to
the admyrall. when she saw it was nyght, & she all
4 a lone in her bedde / she remembered the frenche
knyght who had kyssyd her .iii. tymes in ye presence
of her father, and she was in greate sorow by cause he Esclarmonde
i i.i I*,.. i laments Huon's
was sett2 in presone, and sayd to her selfe, 'without he imprisonment,
8 were a knyght of grete enterpryse he wolde neuer haue
ben so hardy to haue done as he hath done this day
in dyuers maners ' / wherfore she sayd he was well
worthy to be belouyd & socoured / then incontynent
12 she rose & made her redy / and praiely she toke a andsecreUyat
torche of wax in her hand and lyghted it, & yssuyd toward the""
out of her chaumbre as preuely as she coulde : it was pri"on"
abought mydnyght, and euery man was aslepe in the
16 palayes. she went stray te to the proson, and came
at so good a tyme that she found the Jayler8 aslepe /
then she stole awaye the kayes, and wente <fc openyd the
p?*feon dore; and4 when Huon saw the candel6 lyght
20 & y* dore of the prison open, he was in grete fere leest
they wold take hym out to put hym to dethe, or to
do hym sum6 dyspleasure / then7 he began to make
pytyfull complayntes / the lady, who could well speke
24 frenche, vnderstode all Huons complantes, and re-
memberyd his name, bycause the day before she had
harde hymselfe shew her father hys name, then she
sayd, 'Huon, dysmay the8 not; I am Esclaramond,
28 doughter to ye Admyrall, whom, this day passed, thou
dyd kys .iii. tymes in the presence of my father ; if it
be so that thou wylt f ullfyll my wyll, I shall put to my
payne9 to delyuer the out of prison / for I am so she confesses to
32 10amorouse of 10 thee that euer sen11 thou dedest kys me for him.
I haue had none other thought nor ymagynacyon but
1 say somewhat 8 put 3 fast 4 But 6 torch.
6 other. 7 whereupon. 8 omitted. 9 endeavour.
10-10 affectionate towards.
11 since.
126 huon op burdeux. [Ca. xxxix.
onely on the and1 to brynge the out of ye daunger
2 that thou art in.' ' Dame/ 3 quod Huon, ' god rewarde
you 4 of the4 greate curtesaye that ye wold do to6 me;
Huon remind* but, fayre lady Esclaramond, ye be 6 a sarazyn, and I am 4
■he is a Saracen, crystened. trew it is, in that I dyd kys you,7 was by
the coramaundement of kyng Charlemayne, who sent
and he ought me hether,8 but or9 elles I had rather to haue bene here
never to have .
approached her. in perpetuall pryson / then to haue touched eny parte 8
of your flessh10 or mouthe as long as ye be a saryzyn.'
'Huon,' quod the lady, 'sen11 thou art of that mynd,
thou shalt end thy dayes here in preson myserably, nor12
neuer trust me, for13 yf I can, I shall cause ye derely to 12
aby the refuce14 that thou haste made me.' Then the
Eeciarmonde lady Esclaramonde departed fro the pryson and came
departs in wrath,
and bids the to the Jayler, and awoke hym, & sayed, ' frend, I charge
gaoler keep hie . , . . . . . . , . , „
prisoner three the on payne of thy lyfe / that to this frenche prisoner 16
w drink.h°Ut f00d within thy kepynge, that15 these iii dayes and .iii.
nyghtes thou gyue hym nother mete nor drynke. 1
'Dame/3 quod the Jayler, 'your commaundemente
shall be fulfylled.' then y* lady for dysplasure wente 20
agayne to her bed ryght pensyue and full of fantesyes /
The request is & Huon was .iii. dayes & .iii. nyghtes without mete or
obeyed, and Huon
fears he wiu die drynke, & on the .iiii. day he say d, all wepynge,16 ' A,
sustenance. good lorde, I see well I muste 17 dye for hungre ; I 24
humbly require the to ayde & socoure me, and graunt
me the grace that I18 consent nor do eny thynge that
shuld19 be ayenst thy pleasure, or ayenst thy holy law,
for ony trybulacyon that can cum to me' / Thus this 9 28
noble Huon coraplayned all wepynge16 ; 12 there is20 no
creature that had harde hym but 21 that shuld21 haue
ben parte takers of his greate sorowes.
1 how. 8 Fol. xxxi. back, col. 1. 3 Madame. *— 4 for your.
6 vnto. 6 are. 7 but that. 8 bo to doe. 9 omitted.
10 bodie. 11 seiDg. 12 and. 13 but. 14 refusall,
15 for. 18 sorowing. 17 heere. 18 neither.
u shall. » was. n~n he would.
Digitized by
Ca. xxxix[a].] how she saves his life. 127
% How Huon made grete cowplaintes for the
famye that he endured, and how the fayre
Esclaramonde came1 to cowforte hym so2
that Huon wolde fulfyll her desyre.
Capitulo .xxxix[#].5
pHus, as ye haue herd before, Huon
complayned peteusly, for he had ben
.iii. dayes and .iii. nyghtes without
sustenauwce. 5ye lady Esclaramonde, Esciarmonde
, , 0 visits the prison
who caused it, euery mornynge & day by day,
euery euenynge came6 to the pr/son to here what
12 Huon wold say, and euer she would demaunde 7 Huon
yf he were eny other wyse aduysed to answere her
or not, & euer she founde hym at one poynte / and8
at the last, when she saw that,9 then she demaundyd of and promises to
1 6 hym / 10 yf she delyueryd hym out of preson yf 11 he would if he win uke
then promyse her to lede her with hym into Fraunce, & to to France,
take hyr to his wyf when he cam ther. « yf thou wylt her hl>
promyse me this,' quod she, ' thou shalte haue mete &
20 drynke suffycyent at thy pleasure.' 'Dame/12 quod
Huon, 'I promyse you faythfully, 13 though I shulde be
for euer dampned in hell,13 I shall do your pleasure,
what so euer fall14 to me therby' / * then know for
24 trouthe/ quod the lady, 10 'for the loue of the I wyll she is willing to
become crystened & beleue in the law of our16 lord christian.
Ihe*u / Cryst as sone as we come in16 eny place where as
it may be.'17 Huon thanked her / 6 then she causyd Huon thanks her,
_ _ , , , . # / and agrees to all
28 hym to haue mete & drynke, wherof he was loyf ull / her plans.
1 ag&ine. 2 conditionally.
3 The original has two chapters numbered xxxix.
4 Fol. xxxi. back, col. 2. 6 and.
6 before first euery ; second euery omitted. 7 of.
1 But. 0 he still continued in that minde.
10 that. u whether. 12 Madame.
13-13 that upon your forsaking Paganisme, and conuersion
to our christian faith.
14 happen. 16 the. 16 to. 17 done.
Digitized by
128
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. Xl.
then1 she callyd ye Jayler & sayd, 'go thy way in haste
Eadarmonde teiu to the Ad my rail my father, and shew2 hym how3 the
to hwflShw,80 frenche knyght is deed .iii. dayes past for4 feblenes and
HnontodMd. hungre ' / 'Dame/5 quod the Jayler, ' I am redy to do 4
your commaundeme7lt,, & so he wente to the Admyrall
& sayd, 'bit, the frewche knyght that was in my
kepinge ys deed for6 famyn .iii. dayes past.' 1 a,' 7 quod
the Admyrall, ' I am sory therfor ; but sen8 it wyll be9 8
none other wyse I must ouer10 passe it, but I had rather
that he were aliue.' & thus, as ye haue harde, Huon
was respyted11 from the12 deth / 18 it is a cowinien14
sayeng,3 one day of respyte15 is worth 16.c. yere.17 then 12
The gaoler wrvet the Jayler returned to the preson vnto the lady, and
lurike^tfw shewed her what he had saed to the Admyrall / 1 well,
fiend,' quod the lady, 1 if thou wylt be secrete I shall
make thee 18ryche for euer as 19 to ayde me in such thinge* 16
as I wolde haue'20 / 'Dame,'21 quod he, ' to dye in the
quarell I shall do you scruyse suche as ye commaunde
me, the fere of deth shall not lett me to do it.' Now
lett vs leue spekyng of Huon, who was often tymes 20
vysyted with the Jayler, and had all thynges as he
desyred, and was well lodged at his pleasure / 1Lett vs
now speke of Gerames & of them that were vn'th hym
in the castell of the gyant. 24
% How Gerames & his company deperted fro
the towre, & the damesell with them, and
cam to babylon, & of the maner that
Gerames held22 to know sum newes of 28
Huon. Capitulo .xl.
1 and. 2 tell. 3 thai 4 through. * Ladie. 6 by.
7 Alas. 8 seeing. 9 be after otherwyse.
10 ouer after it 11 deliuered. u omitted.
13 for. 14 but a very true. 16 deliueranoe.
16 a. 17 of endurance. 18 Fol. xxxii. col. 1.
19 helping. 20 thee. n Madame.
22 vsed.
Digitized by
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Ca. XL] OF GERAMES AND HIS COMPANY. 129
haue herd here before how Huon For three months
Gerames and hie
deperted fro the towre of the Gyant, company tarry
0 . . for Huon In the
and lefte there Gerames & all his giant's tower,
company, with the damesell his
cousyn. they taryed theyr .iii.
monethes, and neuer herd eny thynge of Huon, wherof
they were sorowfull / and1 went fourthe 2 in a2 moren-
8 ynge& came to the sees syde, to se yf they myght here They go to the
eny worde3 of ther lorde Huon ; and as they lokyd in newt of him,
to4 the see they ppyed a shyppe charged with .xxx. wnTsaraoena116*1
paynemes and grete ryches / then6 Gerames saw how **** up*
12 the shipp was commynge to that porte / then* he sayd
to his company, 'syrs, lett vs go and se yf we can
know eny tydynges of Huon by them * / then they
went to the port, & by that tyme 7 the maryners had
16 caste ther ancre / then Gerames demanded of them
whense they were, & whether they wold go. 'str,'
quod they, ( we wolde go to the Mesqiw to paye to The Toyagers are
come to pay their
Angolafer, the grete gyant, a trybute that we are yearly tribute to
the giant*
20 bound euery yere to paye / and,8 syr, we desyre you to and ask Gerames
shew vs wher we myght 9fynde hym1 / and when fad i!im.V m*y
Gerames saw how7 thy were all alonde out of the shyp,
he sayd, 'a, ye vnhappy paynems, ye shall neuer Gerames replies
24 departe hens, for he that ye demaunde for is deed / an? that hi.
and all ye shall bere hym good 10 company/ than Safat?*11
U Then Gerames sayd to his company, ' syrs, let all
these paynems be slayne ' / & then incontynent they au the paynims
28 sett vppon them, so that all the paynems were slayne, although they
not one that10 scaped a lyue / for the crysten men were ar*nnarnwd-
armyd, and the paynems without harnes11 or eny wepyn /
for other wyse they durste not cum alowd for fere of
32 the gyant then Gerames entred in to the shyp and
toke all that they founde theyr, and bare it into the
1 They. *-2 one. 3 newes. * vpon.
6 and. 6 wherfore. 7 that. 8 therefore.
9 Pol. xxxii. col. 2. w omitted. 11 armour.
OHARL. ROM. VI. B
Digitized by
130 HUON OF BURDBUX. [Ca. xl.
towre / & then they wente to dyner, and made grete 1of1
that aduenture, and after dyner Gerames sayd, ' syrs, yf
we were now in Fraunce, and2 kynge Charlemayne dyd3
demaunde of vs what is become of Huon, ye know well 4
ther is none of vs can tell whether he be alyue or
deed / for yf we shulde say 2 he is deed / &4 after warde
returne home, then we shulde be reputed for false men
euer after, bo the we and our chyldren / 6 a man may be 8
a presoner .xiiii. or .xv. yere, and yet come home agayne
Gerames advisee at the last safe and sounde / But, syrs, and ye wyll
eau^thhwm*in beleue me, we shall do lyke trew men / we haue as
the Saracens ship, nQW ^ p0rt ft g00(j ghyppe, well furnesshyd with 12
euery thynge / and we haue here gold and syluer
plenty / and we shall sone vytell our shype / and then
and seek out lett vs take the see, & neuer rest saylyng tyll6 we here
sum newes of our lord Huon / and yf we do thus, then 16
we do as trew men ought to do / and I desyre you all
euery man shew his aduyse ' 7 / then, without takyng of
aii agree to follow any longer respyt, they answeryd all with one voyce
his counsel. , '* «• • %
that they were redy to accumplesshe all that he had 20
They fit out the deuysed : then8 they tooke gold and syluer, and all ther
ship for the
voyage, ryches, and bare it in to the shyppe, & furnysshed it
with wyne, bysket, salt flesshe, 9and artelery / and
when ther shypp was garnysshed, they put in theyr 24
horses & ther armure / & they all .xiii. companyons
entred in to the shype, and the damsell with them, then
they wayed vp ther ancres & hawsed vp ther sayle,
and so lefte the towre of the Gyant all voyd, and no 28
and sau into the man therin, & thus they sayled alonge the cost tyll6
reach Damietta. they came into the hye see, and so long they sayled tyl
passing up the they came to Damyete / & there they entred into the
they arrive at ryuer of Nyle / and so longe they sayled therin / that 32
Babylon.
they aryued at Babylon, and came to the port, and
ioy for. 8 that. 3 should. * he.
4 for. 6 vntill. 7 herein. 8 8o.
0 Fol. xxxii. back, col. 1.
Digitized by
Ca. XL] OP GERAME8 IN AUDIENCE WITH THE ADMIRAL. 131
tooke out theyr horses. Gerames, that knew well the
lawgage and the maner of the enterynge in to1 y* .iiii.
gates, sayd to his company / c syrs, lett vs lepe 2 on our They dieembark,
4 horses, & let vs enter into ye cyte to se yf we may Seirhoml^ridc
here eny newes of our master Huon.' thus they rode through th* eity'
fourthe & entred in to the cytye / 3 then gerames sayd,
' syrs, we wyll go to the palayes, but when we come Geramet,
8 there holde you all your pease, & suffer me to speke, knowifof the
wherfore it is conuenyent that ye all agre to my promUeTtoiead
wordes, and say not the contrary ' / they answeryd and t^££°
sayd they were contente so to do / 8 thus they rode
1 2 togyther through the towne. ' A, good lord/ quod
Gerames, ' I beseche the of thy grace to graunt vs that
we may here sum good tydynges of our mayster, Huoh
of Burdeux, for whojra we be in iuberdy of dethe* / so
16 they passyd all the .iiii. brydges and gates, by reason He induce* the
thai Gerames shewed fourth suche reasons thai the S^h^pSSI
porters were content / then they came before the greate ^tgnltl^ *°
hall, and theyr they alyghted, and mounted vp all ^mourned,
20 .xiiL, and the damsell with them ; and when they were
in the hall they saw the Ad my rail gaudys syttyng on together enter
a ryche chayre, garmysshed with gold and presyous the Admiral. °f
stones / and Gerames that coulde well speke the langage Qeramw aaintea
24 8arazin,4 caw before ye Ad my rail and sayd / ' the same swwentongue.
Mahounde5 that causeth 6 to grow6 ye wine and ye7
corne saue and kepe ye Admyrall gaudys, whom 8 1 se
theyr syttynge amonge his barons1 / ' Fronde,* quod the
28 admyrall, * thou art welcom. I pray the shew me what
thou art, & whether thou wouldest go ' / ' syr/ quod He foigna himaeif
Gerames, 9<I shew9 you playnely I am come from the ivoryn,
good cytye of mombraunte, and am sonne to kyng J^^d^o?*
32 yuoryn.' when the Admyrall hard that / he rose vp on Mombr*ont'
his fete and sayd, 1 thou art welcome, the sonne of my whereupon the
Admiral bids
brother / fayre nepheu, I pray you shew me how dothe him i
1 all. 2 mount. 8 &. 4 after langage. 6 god. after come.
7 omitted. 8 Fol. xxxii. back, col. 2. 9~» to tell.
K 2
Digitized by
132
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xL
mi brother yuoryn ' / ' syr/ quod Gerames, ' when I
departyd fro hym I lefte hym in good helth, and he
believing
Gerames to be
hit nephew.
oenunes pretend* saluted you by me / and hath sent here to you .xii.
that the twelve '
Frenchmen with frenchemen by me, the which were taken vppon the 4
him have been
sent by Ivoryn
to be imprisoned
by the Admiral
his brother.
see as they were goynge a pylgrymage to the holy
sepulcre of god1 iu Jeruzalem / and he desyreth you to
put them in preson vnto2 the day of saynt Johnn the
Baptyst, at whyche day ye must make the fest of your 8
goddes / and then to brynge them into the medow here
without, and to3 tye & bynde them to stakes, and lett
your archers shote at them, to the entewt to know who
shoteth best / and4 this damsell that is here with me / 12
she to be put to your doughter to teche hyr to speake
perfeyghtly the language of f renche ' 6 / ' fayre
nepheu,' quod the Admyrall, 'as 6 ye haue deuysed6 yt
oerames is given shalbe done / and I giue you powre to coramaund euery 16
command of .
everything in the thyng in thys house at your pleasure, and I pray you
Admiral s house, me wfcat y8 your name ' / ' syr,' quod he, * I am
callyd Jeracle ' / ' well,' quod the Admyrall, ' fro hense
furthe I retayne you to be as my chefe chamberlayne, 20
and I wyll that ye haue the kaye of the preson in your
kepynge, and therin to put these caytyues7 and to do
with them at your pleasure. 8 1 wyll ye loue them but
a lytell8 / but let them haue mete & drynke suffycyent 24
that they dye not for9 famyn / as but late10 dyed a
frenchemara that was sent to me by kynge Charles of
Fraunce, who was callyd Huon of burdeux, the whiche
was a ryght fayre yonge man.' 28
and is named
his chief
chamberlain.
Gerames thus
takes charge of
his companions.
The Admiral
warns him not
to starve them,
as Hnon of
Burdeux,
a recent prisoner,
was starved to
death.
Gerames Is angry
and grieved at the
Admiral's words
concerning
Huon's sad end,
Han Gerames herd that, he had before12 neuer
18 so grete13 sorowe at his herte / for 14 his dyspleasure and
1 Christ. * vntill. 3 there. * as for.
*— * french language. he hathe appointed. 7 captiuea.
8-8 extend vnto them what kindnesse you please.
• with. 10 lately. 11 Fol. xxxiii. col. 1.
18 after neuer. 13-13 greater.
14 then (hearing of the death of Huon).
Digitized by
Ca. Xl] HOW GEHAME8 PUT8 HIS COMPANY IN PR180N. 133
yre1 was so gret that he hadde nere hande rynne vpon
y* Admyrall / and he was so angry2 in his herte8 that
he toke vp a stafife that laye by hym, & gaue eche of but not to excite
4 the frensshe men such strokes on theyr hedes that the i^radgfis the
blode ranne downe, but they suftred it, and durst not Freuchmen*
styre, they were in such fere of the Admyral / but
then4 cursed Gerames for his strokes / who dyd it for
8 the nones.5 And when the Admyrall saw how he had
well beten y* frensshemen he sayd, ' fayre nephew, it
seinyth wel by you that ye loue 6 but lytell6 these crysten
men.' ' Syr/ quod he, * I hate these crysten men more
1 2 than ony men in the worlde / for, syr, all the way that
I haue come I haue thus betten them thre tymes in
euery day in the honor of my god Mabounde, and in the
dyspyte of the7 la we 8 of Jesu chryste,8 on whome they
16 beleue.' thus then Gerames departed fro ye Admyral /
& lede with them the .xii. Frenche prysoners / betynge
them tyll he came to y* pryson / and none of them
durste speke one worde / but to them selfe they cursed
20 Gerames. And as they went to9 ye pryson warde10 they EscUnnonde
meets Gerames
met with the lady Esclaramond / and she sayd, leading his
' cosyn / I am ryght ioyous of your comyng / but yf I ^J^^^ioM to
durst trust in you / I wolde shewe you a secrete mater /
24 so that ye prorayse not to dyscouer me'/ ' cosyn/
quod Gerames / ' by my faythe that I owe to my god
Mabounde, ye maye well shewe me youre wyll &
plesure / for11 myn eyen12 to be drawen out I shall neuer
28 dyscouer you.' & when the damsell herd that promys /
she sayd / 'fayre13 cosyn, it is a .v. monthes passed14 / s'»« Gerames
_ ~ _ _ . . _^ _ how, although
theyr cam to my fader the Admyrall a Frensshe the Admiral
_ believes Huon
knyght with a message fro kyng Charlemayn, who dead, he is still
32 called hymselfe Huon of Burdeux / 15 who, when he had
1 anger. 2 vexed. 3 mind. 4 they. 6 nonst.
6-8 after men. 7 their. • 8-8 and God.
• towardes. 10 omitted. 11 if. la were.
13 Deare. 14 since. 16 Fol. xxxiii. col. 2.
Digitized by
134
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. Xl.
Gerames fears she
has deceived him,
and says nothing
to her.
He sets the
Frenchmen in
prison.
Huon could not
see them through
the darkness of
the prison,
hat he hears one
of them making
complaint of his
hard fete.
Huon knows
from their speech
that they are
Frenchmen,
done his message / he slew a paynyra kynge as he sate
at the table by my fader / & after came and kyst me
.iii. tymes1 / & after2 slew many 6arazins / wherfor at
last he was taken prysoner & set3 in pryson, where as 4
he is yet / howe be it, I made my fader byleue that he
is deed for4 famyn ; 6 how be it,5 cosyn, he is as yet
6 on lyue,6 as wel serried of mete & drynke as my
fader is/ 8
WHen Gerames vnderstode ye damsell Esclara-
mond / he was bothe sorowfull & angry / for
he thought the damsell dyd it to dysceyue him, & to
cause hym to shew forth the secretnes of hys mynde / 12
& by cause 7 of that7 doute8 he passed forth & made no
maner of answere to the damsell / but came to y*
pryson, & put in the prysoners rudely ; & the damsell
returned ryght sorowfull in that she had shewed so 16
muche of her mynd to Gerames, whom she toke for her
cosyn / when Gerames had set3 the .xii. frensshemen in
pryson, he returned ryght sorowful / & Huon, beynge
in the pryson, had grete meruayle what prysoners they 20
were that were let downe in to the pryson / 9 he coulde
not se them, the pryson was so derke / then he drew
nere to them to here them ppeke / so 10 at laste one of them
began to make his complaynt, & sayd / ' a, good lorde 24
Jesu cryst, socour vs, for thou knowest wel this that we
suffre we haue not deserued it,11 but it is for ye loue of
our yong lord, Huon of Burdeux / we haue loued hym
so well that no we we be loste for euer / 12dere lorde 28
Jesu cryst, haue pyte on our soules12' / when Huon
herde what they sayd / then he knewe well2 they were
crystened & frensshe men / 9 then he coueyted moche to
know what they were, & so aproched nere to them & 32
1 before my Fathers face. 2 that 3 put. * with.
6-6 yet, deere. 6—6 aliue and. 7—7 he was in.
8 thereof. 0 for. 10 and. 11 omitted.
12 except, deere Lord, thou haue mereie vppon vs.
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Ca. xl.]
OF GERAMES' DEVICES.
135
sayd / 'syrs, ye that be here, I pray you she we me and uks them
how they came
what ye be, & how ye be come hyder* / 'syr, quod thither,
one of them, 'trewe it is a1 fyue monthes passed theyr They teu their
etory,
4 departed from vs a yong knyght, with whom 2 we
departed3 out of the real me of Fraunce / and he was
borne in Fraunce, and sone to a noble Duke / called
duke Seuyn of Burdeux / this knyght slewe Charlet,
8 sone to the4 kynge Charlemayne, by a mysaduenture,
wherfore he was banysshed out of ye realme of
Fraunce / & sent by kynge Charlemayne to doo a
message to the Admyrall Gaudys, who6 is deed in
1 2 prysow, as it is shewed vs / &, syr, we went3 to seke for
him, and are betrayed by one of our owne company.'
&4 when Huon herde hym speke / he knewe hym well,
& sayd / ' syrs, be of good comforte & make good chere,
16 for I am here,4 Huon, safe & in good helth, thanked and Haon reveaie
be god & the Admyralles doughter / who is so amorous6
of me that she hath sauyd my lyfe / ye shall see soone
how she wyll come & vysyt vs,7 But I pray you, syrs,
20 what is become of the4 old Gerames / whyther he be
lefte behynde to kepe the toure with the damsell my
cosyn, who I lefte in your kepynge 9 I 4 syr/ quod Tiwy bitterly
oomplalnof
they, ' a wore creature, 8 more vntrue8 traytour was Gerames*
apparent
24 neuer borne / for he hath betrayed vs & hath beten treachery,
& put vs in this4 pryson / & as for ye damsell, she
is with the Admyralles doughter 9 / when Huon par-
ceyued that all they were of his company / he went &
28 kyssed9 them, & sayd, * syrs, knowe of a surety that all but Huon teiu
them that
that Gerames hath done is10 to the entent to delyuer vs oenunee ie
seeking by euch
all / 11 1 knowe so well11 the trouth of Gerames. Syrs, devices to uve
make good chere / for as soone as nyght cometh we
32 shal be vysyted with grete ioye ' / ' syr/ quod they,
1 that. 2 Fol. xxxiil back, col. 1. 8 came. 4 omitted.
6 and he. 0 enamoured. T me. *~8 or more false.
9 embraced. 10 done,
u— u out 0f prison. I doe so well know.
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Google
136
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xlL
'surely we byleued that Gerames had forsaken the
faythe of Iesu1 Cryst A2 become a sarazyn / for he hath
made the Ad my rail byleue that he is sone to his
brother, kynge yuoryn of Montbrant.' when Huon 4
herd that, he had grete ioye at his herte, & sayd / ' a,
good lorde, the trouth of Gerames and loue that he
hath 8 all wheres3 shewed to me / shall be to vs ryght
profy table in ye spyte of 4Oberon, who hath forsaken 8
5 me for a small offence / by Gerames we shal be
delyuered out of this pouerte & daunger.' Now leueth
thystory* to speke of Huon / & his company, beynge
in pryson, & 7speketh of7 the olde Gerames, who 12
etudyed8 for the delyueraunce of Huon & his company.
% How Gerames and the fayre Esclaramonde
wente to the pryson to comforte Huon &
the other prysoners. Cap. .xli. 16
Owe sheweth thystory6 when that9
Gerames was returned to the Ad-
myrall he sayd / ' syr, ye frensshe-
men that I brought are faste in 20
pryson and well beten* / 'fayre
nephew/ quod the Admyral, ' they haue had but an
euyll neyghboure of you/ Then Gerames wente in to
oenunet studies his chambre and study ed how he myghte furnysshe 24
how he may send
foodtohie these10 prysoners with vytayle / & dyde so mocne that
and at length goes he had suffycyent / and when nyght came he went
theprieon?*6^ * with, his vytayle to the pryson / for he myght do there
what he lyst, for euery man was redy to do hym 28
1Iseruyce / when he came to the pryson dore / he sent
euery man away and taryed there alone / and he had
not ben there longe but that 12thyther came12 the
1 emitted. 2 was. 3— 3 alwaies. 4 king.
6 Fol. xxxiii. back, col. 2. 6 the Historic.
7 returneth to. 8 and practised. 9 before when.
10 the. 11 any. 1J— u came thether after (laughter.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. Xli.] HOW GERAMES MEETS WITH ESCLARMONDE.
137
Admyralles doughter / when Gerames saw her he wyst Esciarmonde
meeta him at
not what to thynke / and1 sayde, 1 fayre cosyn, I praye the door,
you shewe me what doo ye here at this houre ' / * dere
4 cosyn,' quod she / * the grete truste that I haue in
you / hathe made me to come hyther / hy cause to
daye I dyscouered to you al my secretes, and 2 that I
am in wyll to do / & that is,2 that ye wolde leue the and begs that he
8 law of Mahourcde & receyue the crysten fayth / & I8 to the release of
go4 in to frauwce6 with these prisoners, & we shal well s^th^sheand
fynd ye maner how to departe, & we 6shall haue6 with to^ra^1*^11
vs all the prysoners that ye haue put in pry son.' together.
, Hen Gerames vnderstode8 ye lady he
was 9ioyfull / for then he knewe well 10
she wente not aboute to dysceyue11.
hym / but that she dyd it of good
16 ^^S^^S^V corage12 & good wyll that she bare to
Huon / how be it, he thought10 he wolde not dyscouer
hymself e to her vnto 18 ye ty me he knewe ye trouth of
Huon / then14 he answered fyersly15 the damsell,16 & Gerames affect.
' anger at
20 sayde, ' 0 thou fals & vntrue wenche,17 how arte thou EsciarmondVs
treachery against
so hardy 18 to speke or thynke thus? / surely the Admy- her father,
rail thy father shall knowe it as soone as he cometh
out of his chambre, & then shalt thou be brint,19
24 and the frensshemen hanged ' / ' a,20 syr,' quod she,
' yet I pray you let me go in to the pryson with you, But she begs
permission to pay
to the entent that I may se Huon ones yet or21 1 dye / one visit to Huon,
for the loue of whom I am content to dye ; if he dye
28 I wyl not lyue one day after / therfore let me ones
take 22 leue of him.' ' Dame/23 quod Gerames, 1 for this Gerames
consenting,
tyme I am content that ye go with me * / then Gerames
1 but.
*— 8 what I am intended to doe. Therefore let me in treat you.
3 then. 4 with me. 6 together. •— 6 will take.
7 Fol. xxxiiii. col. 1. 8 had heard. • right.
10 that 11 descrie. 18 heart. 13 vntill.
14 wherefore. 16 angerly. 16 after answered.
17 maide. 18 as. 19 burned. 20 alas.
81 before. ^my. » Well.
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Google
138 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. xli.
tu«y enter toke a torche in his handes, and opened the dore &
Huoifrecogniiee entred / he was no soner entred but Huon knew hym,
Mi old friend, ^ went & embrased hym, & sayd, 4 a, my true louer,
blessyd be the houre that I founde you ' / then they all 4
cleped & kyssed1 him. when the lady sawe theyr
maner2 she was ioyfull / for then she saw well that her
and Esdarmonde dede8 8hold'4the surely er be conuayed4 / then she cam
learn* the truth.
to Huon & demaunded yf they were his sertes6 that 8
made so gret chere6 togyther. 'dame/7 quod Huon /
' surely al these that be here be my men / surely8 ye
may trust them / for there is none of them but that
they shal do your co/nmaundement.' 'Huon/ quod 12
the damsell, * there comynge pleaseth me ryght wel ' /
then Huon sayd to his company / 9 i syrs, I pray you
make me no more chere, but to9 this noble lady, for by
her we shal be delyuered / for10 it is she that hath 16
Huon and hii sauyd my lyfe ' / then they all togyther11 thanked her /
Eidtrmonde^or ' syrs,' quod she, * yf ye wyll worke by my counsell / I
her aaaiatanoe. g^ shew you how 12 1 maye ayde you to delyuer you13
hense / 14 1 wyll that ye all byleue surely how14 I do 20
fermely byleue in Iesu cryst, and at this daye there is
no man that I more hate then the Admyrall Gaudys
my father, by cause he beleueth not in our lorde Jesu
cryst / for he hateth so the crysten men / he can not 24
abyde to here15 spekynge of theym / for he byleueth but
vpon Mahounde & vpon18 his ydollea, therfore my herte
can not loue hym / yf he dyde other wyse I wolde pur-
chase to hym none yll / for all the good in the world / 28
but I shall shewe you what ye muste do / when it is the
houre of mydnyght I shall brynge you all in to my
1 embraced. a of saluting. 3 intent
4 be more surely compassed, <fc. * seruantes.
6 loue. 7 Madame. 8 boldly.
°— 9 gentlemen and my deare friends, forbeare this extremite
of kindnesse to me and bestow it vpon
10 and. 11 humbly. 12 Fol. xxxiiii. col. 2.
13 from-. 14-14 First let me unfainedly perswade ye that
16 any. 16 omitted.
Digitized by
Ca. xlii.] how esclarmonde plots in behalf op huon. 139
chambre, where as I shall1 prouyde harneys2 for you all / sh« promise*
. to lead them that
and there ye shall all be armed / then I shall brynge you night to her own
room,
in to y* Admyral my faders chambre / whom ye shall and thence win
#110 11 11* take them to her
4 fynde slepynge / and then8 ye maye slee hym / and as for fathers chamber
me, I shall1 be the fyret that shal stryke hym / and when ,uy Sm wwfe
he is slayne then shall we departe surely ' / when Huon "ion reject* her
4vnderstode her, he sayde / ' dame,6 & god wyll your un<Uial pUn"
8 fader shal not so be slayne / ye day shal come that ye
shall other wyse delyuere vs / we thanke you that ye
desyre so moche our delyueraurcce / 6 [ thynke it good
that ye and Gerames departe hense / for this tyme, for
12 it is nere hand day, to the entent that our besynes be
not perceyued ' / then the lady & Gerames departed <fe
closed agayne the pryson dore, & wente7 in to the palayes,
& I 8 when it was day / & also8 euery day Gerames Everyday
' ' 01 y Eeclarmonde and
16 & ye lady went to vysyt ye prysoners, & bare them Geramee visit
euery thynge that was nedefull for them / Gerames epri,on•
was all wayes with the Admyrall / and dyd what he
wold / for theyr was no paynym that durste do con-
20 trary to his commaundement. Now leue we to speke
of the Admyral / of Gerames, and of Huon, & of all
them that were in the9 pryson / 10vnto the tyme we10
returne to them agayne.
24 11 How the gret gyant Agrapart, eldest broder
to Angolaffer, whom Huon slewe / as-
sembled his people and came to Babylon
to haue the trybute of the Admyral as his
28 broder had / and of the batayll hande
for12 hande that he desyred of the Ad-
myrall Gaudys / the whiche was agrede.13
Capitulo .xlii.
1 will. * armour. 8 there. 4 had. 6 Madame. 6 but.
7 vp. 8-8 as if they had not beene there at all aud thus.
9 omitted. vntill such time as we may.
11 Fol. xxxiiii. back, col. 1. 12 to. 13 vnto.
Digitized by
140
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xlii.
Agrapart grieves
for the death of
hU brother
Angolaffer
[Galafre], whom
Huon had slain.
He was as gigantic
and hideous to
look upon as his
brother.
He gathers
together the men
of the neighbour*
ing country,
and bids them
follow him to
Habylon to obtain
from the Admiral
the land and
tribute which
belonged to his
brother.
S ye haue herd1 her before how Huon
ilewe the gyant Angolaffer / the
whiche gyant had .xvii. bre theme
nil elder than hym selfe / 2& anone 4
after that the deth of Angolaffer was
knowen, then whew his elder brother
named Agrapart was aduertysed of the deth of his
brother, he toke therof grete sorow / he was as grete as 8
his brother was2 / he was .xvii. fote of length, & of 8
bygnes he was4 therafter / he was a fote bytwene the
browes / & his eyen more redder & brynnynge5 then a
broude of fyre, & ye grystell of his nose as grete as the 12
mossell6 7of an oxe / & he had two teth yssuyng out of
his mouth more then a fote longe eche of them / 8yf I
shold dyscryue his foule fygure at length,9 it shold10
anoye all the herers therof / 11 ye may well byleue; when 16
he was in dyspleasure he had a fearfull chere12 / for then
his two eyen semed13 .ii. brynnynge6 torches; when
he was surely14 aduertysed of the deth of his brother he
sent ouer all his countre that euery man shold come to 20
hym in harneys ;15 & so they dyde / & whan they were
come, he declared to them the dethe of his brother
Angolaffer, & sayde howe it was his mynde to goo to
Babylone to the Admyrall Gaudys / and to take 24
possessyon of the londes and seygnoryes that were his
brothers, and also to haue the trybute that was dewe by
the Admyrall / then all his lordes sayde, *syr, com-
maunde at youre plesure, & we shall obey it ' / ' well, 28
syrs,' quod he, 'then I wyll that euery man lepe16 on
1-1 It hath beene sufficiently declared.
*— 2 who liued distant from him in diuers seuerall places.
It was no longe while after but that his elder brother named
Agrapart was aduertised of the death of his Brother which he
tooke to his hart exceeding heauile. Now you must vnderstand
that he was in all respects of as huge stature as his brother, for
3 in. 4 made. 6 burning. 6 nostril.
* Fol. xxxiiii. back, col. 2. 8 but. 9 the full.
10 would. 11 therefore. 12 countenance to looke vpon.
13 like. 14 certenly. 16 armour. 16 mount.
Digitized by
Google
Cil. xlii.J HOW THE GIANT AGRAPART COMES TO BABYLON. 141
theyr horses / to go toward Baby lone 9 / & so they all
obayed, & lept1 on theyr horses & departed, & rod
so long that they cam in to a playne / nere to the cite
4 of Babylon; they were a2 .x.M. meii togyder: then3 Ten thousand
Agrapart sayde, 'syrs, tary ye all here tyll I come bX^B*™yion.
agayne, for I wyll go all alone & speke with the
Admyrall Gaudys' / then he armyd hym,4 & toke a Agrapart well-
8 grete fawchon in his hawdes / & departed al alone / & city alone,
so went & entred in to the cy te of Babylon / & so past JUice?™ ** U e
the .iiii. gates; theyr was no paynym that durst say
him nay / he rested not tyll6 he cam to the palays ;
12 the same tyme the Admyrall was syttyng at dyner, & He finds the
Gerames 0 before hym sytfeynge ;6 then the Gyaunt came dinned at
to the table / and sayde, ' The same god Mahounde vnder
whome we lyue, 7 and causeth the wyne & come to growe,
16 may7 confounde ye Admyrall 8Gaudys as an yll caytyfe insuiu him in a
and an vntrew9 traytour / when the Admyrall 10 saw
how he was so dyspraysed10 / sayd, 11 ' Agrapart, of 12 this
that thou hast sayd thou lyest falsely / thus sha?wf ully
20 to rebuke me in myn owne court before all my lordes ;
but13 shew me y* cause why 14 ye do14 me this iniury ' /
' Admyrall/ quod he /' it is by cause ther is come in to because he is
harbouring the
thy court he that hath slayne my brother / whom murderer of his
24 incontynente thou oughtest to haue slayne 16 hym
quycke16 / wherfore yf it were not for mynew honor with
my fyst, I wolde stryke the on the nose17 / thou hast
sett18 hym in prison without any more hurte doynge to19
28 hym / therfor, thou traytour thefe, by Mahunde be thou
cursed ; thou art not worthy to sytt in a sete royall18 /
aryse vp ! it is not mete for the to sy t there ' / and When he has
therwith he drew the Admyrall so rudely out of his he puSl thT""*
32 chayre / that his hatt and crowne fell downe to y* uuoni?1 fr°m W"
1 got. 2 about 8 and. 4 himselfe. 6 vntill.
with him. 7-7 omitted. 8 Fol. xxxv. col. 1.
• false. 10-10 heard himselfe so highly abused he.
11 to. 12 in. 13 therefore. 14~u thou doest.
16-M likewise. 16 owne. 17 face. 18 put. 19 vnto.
Digitized by
142
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xliii.
and bmU himself
there.
He demands the
land and tribute
that was due from
the Admiral to
his brother,
but offers to free
him of all
obligation if he
can send into the
field against him
two champions
who are able to
overcome him.
The Admiral
accepts the
challenge,
erthe. then1 y* Admyrall was sore abasshed; then
Agraparte satt downe in his chayer, and sayd, ' thou
false traytor, my brother is deed, therfor from hens
fourth thou shalt be ray subgett / for it appertayneth 4
to me to haue the landes that my brother had, and yc
trybute that thou were wonte to paye to2 my brother, or
elles I shall stryke of thy hede. how be it, I wyl not
do ayenst ryght / for yf thou wylte proue the contrary, 8
or to3 fynde ,ii. champyons to be so hardy that for thy
loue4 wyll fyght with me in playne batayle, I shall fyght
with thew ; or mo, yf thou wylte sende them to me /
and yf it be so that I be ouercome and dyscomfyted by 12
.ii.6 of them, I am content6 from hense fourth thou shalt
holde thy landes frank e and free without eny trybute
payenge / and7 yf it be 8 so that I conquyre them bothe /
then thou to be my subgett, and to pay me trybute for 16
euer, & also to pay me for a knowlege9 euery yere
.iiii. dram*10 of gold for11 thy hed money ' / ' Agraparte,'
quod the Admyrall, 4 1 am content thus to do, & to sett12
.ii of my men to fyght with the.' 20
and proclaims
that he will give
his daughter in
marriage to any
man who will
fight against
the giant.
l*% How the Admyrall gaudys toke Huon out
of preson and armyd hym to fyght with
the gyaunt Agraparte. Capitulo .xliii.
jHan the Admyrall had herde the grete 24
g vant he cryed14 aloude, 4 where be y*
two gentyll knyghtes Mat wyll be15 euer
my frendes / now is the tyme come
that all the goodness and greate gyftes 28
that I haue gyuen among you be10 now17 rewardyd ; yf
there be ony of you that wyll fyght ayenst this gyant, I
shall gyue hym my dough ter 18Esclaramonde in maryage,
1 whereat. 2 vnto. 3 omitted. 4 dare or. 6 any.
• that 7 But 8 fall out 9 due taxe. 10 Ducatee.
18 appoint. 13 Fol. xxxv. col. 2. 14 said.
17 to be. 18 Fol. xxxv. back, col. 1.
11 as.
»• for.
16
Digitized by
Ca. xliii.] of ,huon's release. 143
and after my dethe to haue all1 my erytage; no man
shall 2 say nay therto* / but for eny fayer wordes or
promyse that the Admyrall coulde do,3 there was no Nopaynim
venture* forth.
4 paynem so hardy to do4 it, wher wM6 ye admyrall
made gret sorow, & began to wepe ;6 & when the gyant
Agraparte saw him, he sayd, ' thy wepyng7 cannot Agrapart defies
the Admiral to
auayle the, for whether thou wylt or not it must find any to
conquer him.
8 behoue the* to pay these .iiiL peses of golde yerly /for I
am sure ther is no paynem that dare fyght ayenst me.
when ye fayre lady Esclaramowd saw her father wepe it
sore greued her hert, & 8 sayd / ' o, my father, yf I knew
12 it shuld not dysplease you, I wolde shewe you one
thing the whiche shulde brynge you out of this dought ' /
' doughter/ quod he, ' I swere by Mahounde I woll not
be dyspleased what so euer thou sayest ' / ' sir/ quod
16 she, 'I 9 haue shewed you or this9 that the frencheman Esoiarmonde teiu
that brought you the message fro kynge Charlemayne Huon euu live*,
was deed in pryson; but, syr, surely10 he is as yet
alyue. yf it plese you I shall fetche hym to you / and,
20 sir, without dought 1 11 waraunt you he wyll take on and promises that
hym this bateyll ayenst the gyant, for he shewed you Agrapart's
challenge.
how he slewe the other gy aunt Angolaffer ; 12 I haue hope
by the ayde of Mahounde / in lyke wyse he shall sle
24 his brother this gyant Agraperte.' ' doughter/ quod
the Admyrall, ' it is my pleasure that ye shall fetche
the presoner to me; for yf he may13 dyscomfyte this
gyant, I am content that he and all his company shall
28 deperte franke and free at there pleasure ' / then the
lady and Gerames wente to the preson / and toke out
Huon and all his company, & brought them before the Hnonh^Mbefore
Admyrall. Then the Admyrall soore14 behelde Huon, &
32 had 15meruell that he was in so good case / 16 his coloure
1 omitted. 8 be so bold as to. 3 make. 4 vndertake.
6 whervppon. 6 lament. 7 lamenting. 8 she.
9 I did onoe delude you in telling you. 10 credite me.
11 dare. u therefore. 18 can. 14 earnestly.
16 great. 16 yet
Digitized by
144
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xliii.
The Admiral
invites him to
acccept the
giant's challenge.
If Hnon ia suo-
oessml in the
flght,
and he desires to
return to France,
he shall be freed
and led to Acre,
with presents for
Charlemagne.
But if after his
success he will
stay with the
Admiral,
he shall wed
Esclaramonde
and possess half
his realm.
was sum what pale by reason of lyenge so longe in
preson / then the Admyrall sayd, 4 frende, yt semeth
by thy chere1 that thou hast had 2a good preson'2 /
4 syr,' quod Huon, 4 I thanke your dough ter therof,8 and4 4
6 1 pray you shew me for what cause ye haue as now
sent for me ' / ' frond,' quod the Admyrall, 4 I shall
shew the / beholde yender sarasyn that is armed, who
hathe chalenged to fyght with me hand to hande 8
or ayenst two of the best men 8 1 haue / & I can fynde
none so hardy that dare fight agaynst this paynera / and
yf it be so that thou wylt take on7 the this enterpryse
for me / I shall8 delyuer the & all thy company quyte 12
to go in to thy countre at thy pleasure / and surely to
condute the to the cyte of Acre. And also to9 gyue the
a somer chargyd10 with gold / the whiche thou shalt
present fro me to kynge Charlemayne / & euery yere 16
fro hense forth to sende hym lyke present11 for my hede
mony / and 12 therof to make suche wrytynge12 as his
counsell can deuyse / and18 yf he haue any warre I shall
send hym two .M. men of arines payed for a14 yere16 / and 20
yf it be so that he desyre niyne owne person / I shall16
passe the see with a .CM. paynyms to serue hym ; for I
had rather to be in to10 seruitude there than to pay .iiii.
drams to this Gyaunt ; and, more ouer, yf thou wylt 24
abyde17 with me I shal gyue the my dough ter Esclara-
monde in maryage / and the halfe of my real me to
mainteyne thyne estate.' 'Syr,' quod Huon, 'I am
content this to do / so that I may haue myn owne 28
names1 8 & my ryche home of yuorye and my cuppe,
the whiche were taken fro me whan I was taken19
prysoner.' 4 Frende,' quod the admyrall, 4 all shalbe
1 lookes. 2—3 no ill imprisonment 8 therefore.
4 but. 6 FoL xxxv. back, col. 2. 6 that T vpon.
8 then. • I will. 10 omitted. 11 as.
u-18 to make such assurance. ,s also. 14 whole.
u beforehand. 16 will then. 17 heere. 18 armour.
>• veelded.
Digitized by
Ca. xliii.] how the -admiral seeks a champion in huon. 145
delyueryd to the : thou shalt not lese the valew of one The Admiral
peny ' / than the adrnyrall sent for the home &1 harnes2 / to wtorehb***
and cuppe / and deliueryd them to Huon, wher of SraeMT' "
4 he had grete ioy / 8 whan Agraparte saw and knew rtr^htwa^T
that the adrnyrall had founde a chauipyon to fyght
with hym, he sayd to the adrnyrall, ' syr, I wyll go out
and speke with my knyghtes / and in y* meane tyme
8 let thy champyon be redy aparelyd / for I shall not Agrapartia
anxious for the
tary longe / for4 I shall neuer haue ioy at my herte tyll fight.
6 1 haue rased6 his herte out of his body.' ther with
he deperted and wente to his men, & Huon dyd7 on his H^armi
1 2 cote of mayle, and than he toke Gerames his home of and give* into
Oenunea' keeping
yuoray, & sayd, ' frende, I pray you kepe my home tyll the ivory horn.
I returne agayne* / then he 8 prayed 9 our lorde to
forgyue hym his synnes, to socoure and to ayed hym to
1 6 dyscomfayt that foull fende the Gyaunt / 10 when he had
made his prayers to god he dyd7 on his harnes2 as
quickly as though he had neuer ben in preson, wherby
he knew well that god was pleasyd wit/i hym. 10 than he
20 sayd / ' o, noble kynge Oberon, I pray the sen11 god is Huon pray* to
/ ' ' . J ° , , / , , Oberonthathe
pleasyd with me, put awaye thy dyspleasure and perdon may be received
again into hie
me / for the brekynfte of thy commaundement I haue favour,
been sore punysshed, and I pray the be not dyspleasyd
24 yf I spake eny hasty worde beyng in preson / 12famyn
causyd me to do it / in the brekynge of thy com-
maundement I confesse I dyd yll therin, yet *it was
but by neclygence and forgettynge / 18 a, syr,18 what
28 curtesey ye shewed me when ye founde me in the
wod & gaue me your ryche home and cuppe, by the
whiche often tymes I haue ben succoured / th erf ore,
syr, now I requyre the to perdon me all my trespasses
32 and helpe me at my nede, for I see well without it be
by the grace of god and your helpe ther is no thynge
1 omitted. 2 armour. 8 but. 4 beside.
* Pol. xxxvi. col. 1. 8 tome. 7 put. 8 went and. 9 to.
10 and. 11 seeing. 18 for. ,3— 13 Alas, 8ir, remember but
CHARL. ROM. VI. L
Digitized by
Google
146
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xliii.
can saue my lyfe* / thus he besought god of perdon
and to gyue hym grace to dystroy his enemy, who
is1 orryble to beholde / and whan he had made his
ore8on2 ther cam a sarazyn to Huon, and sayd, ' syr, 4
a Saracen restore* here is your owne sworde that ye loste when ye were
Ins sword to him,
taken, 'frende, quod huon, 'ye do 8 to 8 me grete
curtesy ; god gyue me grace to rewarde the * / then he
dyd on his helme and gyrte on his sword / then4 the 8
and a good hone Admyrall sent hym a good horse, the best in all his
is given him.
courte, for he was not so fay re but he was 6 of bountye5
aboue all other / whew Huon saw hym he was ryght
ioyfull, and thankyd the Admyrall / as for his ryche 12
apparell,6 1 make no men7cyon therof / the sadell, harnes,
and brydell were so ryche that the valew ther of coulde
not be estemed; then Huon made the sygne of the
crosse and mounted on his horse armed at all peces,8 16
and so rode out of the palayes in to a fayre medow, and
there made a course to asay his horse / and then he
restyd hym before the Admyrall, who lened in a
wyndow in his palaes, and9 he beheld Huon, and10 sayed 20
The Admiral to his lordes / 1 syrs,11 these frenchemen are to be
admires Huon's
fair appearance doughted and feryd, for Huon is a goodly yonge man,
mounted and may and gret domage12 it had been yf he had been slayne' /
arnwd* the Admyrall commaundyd the felde to be kept with a 24
thousand sarazyns, to thentent that no treason ehulde be
done 18 & then the Admyrall sayd, 'Mahound be thy
gyde.'18
% How Huon fought14 with Agrapart the 28
gyant, and dysconifyted hym, & delyuered
hym to the Admyrall, who had gret ioye
therof. Capitulo .xliiii.
1 waa so. 8 prayer. s— 8 omitted. 4 and.
6-5 in goodness. 6 fourniture. 7 Fol. xxxvi. col. 2.
• points. 9 when. 10 he. 11 Trust me. w wrong.
13-13 or any iniurie offered to his faire seeming Champion.
14 ofught in text.
Digitized by
Ca. xliv.]
HOW THE FIGHT BEGINS.
147
Hen Huon had made his course he cam2
to the felde Where as his enmy was
redy.3 when Agraparte saw Huon he
sayd / 'thou that art of so greate
courage as to fyght ayenst me / how
nere akyn art thou to the admyrall, sen4 for y* loue of Agrapartasks
J Huon what
hym thou wylte put thy selfe in aduenture of dethe. relationship he
"' bears to the
8 'Paynem/ quod Huon, 'know for trouthe6 I am Admiral,
nothynge a6 kynne to the admyrall, but I was borne
in the realme of Fraunce / & yf thou desyre to knowe Huon replies that
_ ' , heisaFrench-
what I am, I saye vnto the6 I am he that slew thy man,
12 brother.' 'for that/ quod the paynein, 'I am the SaUft^,lay'rof
more soro wfull / and yet agayne 7ioyouse, when7 mahond
hath done me that grace to haue poure to reuenge his
dethe ; but yf thou wylte beleue and worshyp my god Agrapart oilers
16 Mahound, & forsake thy beleue, and go with me into sisterhTmarriage
my couwtry, I shall make the so greate a lorde that6 his^euSonXr1*
all thy kynne8 was neuer none9 suche / & I shall gyue thatof MRhomet"
the my syster in maryage, whiche10 ys a fote gretter
20 than I am, and11 as blacke as a cole* / ' paynem/ quod
Huon, ' I care nother for thy lond, nor for thy syster,
but all the deuylles in hell kepe them both ; beware
thou of me / for I shall neuer ioy in my herte vnto12 the
24 tyme5 1 haue slayne the, as I haue done thy brother. I
defy the in y* name of god 13 and of the vyrgyn Mary 13 ' / Huon defies him
'& I the/ quod the Gyaunt, ' in the name of mahounde ' / God and of the
then they wente a sunder to take ther coursses / then3 Vir*ln'
28 they ran eche at other, & mett so fersly that ther speres The fight begins
brake in peces ;3 ye encou/eter was so rude that by force
of the horses14 bothe the horses fell to the yerth, and15 and their horses
foil.
y* cha?npyons quyckely releuyd,16 and so came eche
32 vppon other / Agraperte toke vp his fauchyon to
haue stryken Huon, but he stept a lytell on the one
1 Fol. xxxvi. back, col. 1 . 2 in. 8 and. 4 seeing that.
6 that 6 of. 7-7 ioyfull in that 8 there.
« is. 12 vntill. 13-13 omitted.
14 ahocke. 16 but. 16 reoouered.
L 2
Digitized by
Google
148 huon op burdkux. [Ca. xliv.
syde, wherby the paynem myst his stroke / and Huon
Haon de«i« lyfte vp his swerde, and strake the gyaurct on the helme
Agrapart a fierce
blow on hit helm, so meruelus xa stroke, that he strake of a quarter ther
of and Wounded hym sore, and the stroke descended 4
The giant u downe, & dyd cut of his ere, so that ye clere2 blode ran
wounded,
downe to the ground, then Huon sayd, ' paynem,
thou art8 vnhappy ; when thou cammest hether thou
myghtest haue ben contente with the dethe of thy 8
brother, and not to cum hether to haue as moch,4 for
thou shalt neuer see fayre day more* / when the
and in fear for hie gyant saw hy mself hurt ho had grete fere, and sayd,
Huon?ld,t° 'cursyd be he of Mahunde tliat forgyd thy sword / I 12
had rather I had ben bounde to haue payd a greater6
sum of money to haue saued my lyf, then to be slayne
here / therf ore 1 yeld me6 to thee; take here my sworde;
I pray the do me no hurt ' / ' Paynym/ quod Huon, 16
'haue no dought sen7 thou doest yelde the to me ther
is non so hardy that shall do the eny dysplesure ' / then
Huon toke y6 paynem by the arme, and brought hym
The Admiral i* into y* cy tye, wher of the admyrall & all his lordes had 20
Jlctorj.*1 Hu°n * grete ioye ; but the grete 8ioy8 that Esclaramund had
passed all other / when Gerames saw how the gyant
was ouer come, he came to y* admyrali & sayd, 1 sir
Geramea rtreejs Admyrall, know for trouthe9 I am crystenyd, & I am 24
Admiral. not your nephew ; I cam hether but alonely 10 to serche
for my lorde Huon, and the better to know the trouthe
I sayd I was sonne to yewryn of mount brake,11 your
brother, therby to know the sertente what was become 28
of Huon / for I knowe12 well he was sent to you from
kynge Charlemayne on 18 message.'
«J How Agraparte the gyant cryed mercy to
the Admyrall / & how Huon desyryd the 32
i Fol. xxxvi. back, col. 2. 2 black. 8 wert 4 thyself.
6 great 6 myself. 7 seeing. 8-8 inward content.
• that. 10 only. 11 Mombrance. 18 knew. 13 a.
Digitized by
Ca. xlv.] op agrapart's defeat.
Admyrall Gaudys to leue his law and to be
crystenyd. Capitulo .xlv.
149
Han the admyrall herde Gerames he had
grete memayle, and sayd / * it is herde
for any man to be ware of the craft &
suttylte that is in a frencheman.' than
the admyrall saw where Huon was
8 comynge vp the grese,2 and brought3 with hym the
Giaunt / than4 the admyrall and all other5 cam and
met hym, and Gerames and his company with them,c
who were ryght ioyfull whan they saw hym come / whan
1 2 Huon saw the admyrall he tooke Agrapart by ye hand
and sayd to the admyrall, ' Syr, I delyuer hym into Huon delivers
your handes, that this day dyd you so grete iniurye idminiu 10 th§
7 that he7 drewe you out of your chayr; I delyuer
16 hym8 to you to do with hym at your pleasure ' / whan
Agrapart saw that he knelyd downe8 and sayd, 'syr
admyrall / he hath mych to do that foolyshely The ginnt repenu
. " of his vain
thynketh / I say this by my selfe / for to day whan I boasting before
20 cam to you I thought my selfe the moost puyssaunt **hU
man that reyned on the erth / and thought that ye were
not suffycyent nor worthy to sersue me / but often
tymis9 beleuynge desseyueth hys mayster / for I thought
24 that for x men I wolde not ones 10 a tournyd10 my chere
to haue regardyd the?/? / but other wyse is fallen to me /
for I am discomfytyd alonely by one man, and am
taken and brought in to your handes, therfor ye may
28 do with me at your pleasure / therfore,11 syr, I requyre
you haue pytye of 12 me, & pardon the outrage that I
haue done to13 you/ Than the admyrall answeryd and
sayd / how he wolde pardon hym on the condycyon The Admiral
/>, . i . pardons him on
32 that he shulde neuer after trespas hym, nor no14 man in condition of his
1 Fol. xxxvii. col. 1. 8 steps. 8 bringing. 4 whereon.
6 his Lordes. 6 him. 7— 7 euen he that. 8 omitted.
9 rash. 10-10 turne. 11 yet. 18 on. 13 vnto. M any.
Digitized by
150
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xlv.
becoming his
man.
Agrapart doe*
homage to the
Admiral,
and they and the
Frenchmen dine
together.
Huon shows the
Admiral how hie
t-up Alls with
wine when the
sign of the cross
is made above it.
It is handed to
the Admiral,
but it remains
empty while he
holds it.
his couiitre / and be syde that, to become my1 man, and
to do me8 homage before all them that 3 be here3 present.
' Syr/ quod Agrapart, ' I am redy to fulfyll your plea-
sure ' / 4 than he dyd homage to the admyrall in the pre- 4
sence of all them that were there / than4 in grete ioye
they sat all downe to dyner / ye 5 admyrall made greate
honour to Huon / & made6 hym7 syt by hym / thaw
Agrapart and Gerames, and all the other frenche men.8 8
As for there seruys, and many dyshes of sundry sortes
of metto, I leue spekynge of them. Huon, who had
grete desyre to accomplyshe his enterpryse, drew out
his cuppe / the whiche Gerames hade9 delyueryd to 12
hym with his home of yuory / & 10 sayd to ye admyrall /
' sir, ye may se here this rych cuppe in my hand, ye
which ye se 11 all empty ' / ' syr,' quod y* admyrall, ' I
se wel ther is no thiwge therm.' 12 'sir,' quod Huon, 16
' I shall shew you how our law is holy and deuyne.'
than Huon made the sygne of the crosse thre tymes
ouer the cuppe / the which incontynent was full of
wyne, wher of 13 the admyrall had grete meruayle. ' Syr/ 20
quod Huon, ' I present you this cuppe, that ye shulde14
drynke therof / 4 than shall ye se16 the goodnes of the
wyne.' the admyrall tooke it in his hande / and
incontynent the cuppe was voyde, & ye wyne vanysshyd 24
away / than13 the admyrall had grete meruayle, and
saydo / ' Huon, ye haue enchauntyd me.716 ' Syr/ quod
Huon, ' I am none enchaunter / but it is by cause ye
be full of synne. for the lawe that ye holde is of no 28
valure17 / the grete vertue that god hath put in this
cuppe, by reason of the sygne of the crosse that I
made18 ye may parseyue that my saynge is trew /
1 his. 2 him. 3— 3 were there. 4 and.
6 Fol. xxxvii. col. 2. 6 caused. 7 to. 8 sat downe.
9 before. 10 then. 11 is. u Now.
13 whereat. 14 may. 15 tast. 16 Not so.
17 wroth. 18 whereby.
Digitized by
Ca. xlvL] HOW HUON SEEK 8 TO CONVERT THE ADMIRAL.
151
'Huon, quod the admyrall, 'ye nede Ho haue no
besynes1 to spe to me to forsake my beleue2 to take
yours / but I wolde knowe of you whether ye wyll
4 abyde here with me, or elles to8 go in to Fraunce / for
that I haue promyshyd you I shall fulfyll it.' 'A,
sir admyrall/ quod Huon, c I know4 you wyll kepe
couenaunt with me in that ye haue promysyd me.
8 But, syr, aboue all other matters I pray you haue pyte Huon tries to
of your owne soule, the whiche shal be dampnyd in Admiral u>
become Christian,
hell without ye leue your beleue, 5 the whiche is6
nother good nor iust / for8 without ye do thus, I swer
12 by 6 my fayth that I shall 7 cause so7 many men of armes and Uire*ten« to
w overrun his city
that al the houses in yourpalays and cyte shalbe full' / with armed men
whan ye admyrall herd Huon say so he behelde his
owne men and sayd, ' Syrs, here ye may wel here the
16 pryde that is in this frencheman, who hath been more
than halfe a yere in my pryson, and now he thretenethe
to slee me by cause I wyll not take on me his law, and
leue myn owne / I haue grete meruayle where he
20 shulde fynde8 men as he hath sayd / or 9 to let9 me to
slee hym at my pleasure. ' Syr,' quod Huon, 4 yet I
demaunde10 of you yf ye wyll do as I haue sayd.'
* Huon/ quod the admyrall, ' beware on payn of your The Admiral
2 4 eyen, and as myche as ye loue your ly f e, that ye speke agf^st Huon*!"
no more to me of this mater, for by the fayth that I threat*
owe to mahound / yf al kyng Charlemayn's host were
here assembled,11 shulde not lye in there power to saue
28 your lyfe.' 4 Admyrall/ quod Huon, 4 1 am in dought
that to late ye shall12 repent you.
% How Huon, seynge that the admyrall wolde
not forsake his beleue, blew his home /
1-1 not to trouble yourself. 2 and. 8 omitted.
* well. *-* in that it ia. 6 Fol. xxxvii. back, ool, 1.
call hether. 8 such store of. what lets.
10 once more. n it u will.
Digitized by
152
HUON OF BURDBUX.
[Ca. xlvi.
Huon blows hit
horn,
and the Admiral
and his company
rise and dance.
Oberon hears the
Mart,
and declares he
will lead an army
to Huon's aid.
With his men he
straightway
appears at
Babylon,
and slays all who
will not become
Christians.
wherby Obero/a cam to hym / and Hhe
admyrall2 slayne and all his men / and how
Huon and the favre Esclaramounde were
in perell of drownynge by reason that he 4
brake the co;#maufldeme#t of kinge
Oberon. Ca. .xlvi.
Han Huon saw that y* admyrall wolde
not leue his law to receyue crysten- 8
dome / he sette his home to his
mouthe / and blewe it 3 by suche
force3 that the blud brast4 out of his
mouthe / so that the admyrall & all other that were 12
there put the tabylles fro them and rose, and all that
were in the 5palays began to synge & daunce / the same
tyme kyng Oberon was in his wood, and herd6 the
home blowe, sayd, 'A, good lorde, I know surely that 16
my frende Huon hathe greate nede of me / I pardon
hym of all his trespas, for he hath ben suffycyentely
pony shy d / 7 1 wishe my selfe with hym with an
.CM. men well armyd / there is not in all ye worlde so 20
noble a man as Huon is / it is8 pytye that his herte is
so lyght and mutable ' / than incontynent he with all
his company were in ye cyte of Babylon, where as they
began to slee all suche as wolde not beleue of 9 Ihesvi 24
Cryst / 10 than Oberon went to the palays with all his
cheualrye, and euery man with his sword naked in
11 there handes 11 / when Huon saw Oberon / he embrasyd
hym & sayd, * I ought greately to thank god and you 28
that ye become so far of to ayde me in all my besynes.'
' Huon/ quod Oberon, * as ye beleue me and worke by
my counseU, I shall not f ayle you ' / than on all sydes
they slew paynynis, men &12 wemen & chyldren/ except 32
1 how. 8 was. 3— 3 with such violence.
6 hearing,
his hand.
6 Fol. xxxvii. back. col. 2.
great. 9 on. 10 and.
4 issued.
7 and now.
12 omitted.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xlvL] HOW HUON PERFORMS HIS MI88ION. 153
suche as wolde become1 crystenyd. Oberon came to
the admyrall & toke hym and delyueryd hym into the oberon gyre* the
** Admiral into
handys of Huon, who had there of greate ioy / 2 than Huon's hands.
4 Huon demaundyd of the admyrall what he was myndyd
to do 3 to 3 leue y* lawe of Mahounde and to4 take cryst-
endome. ' Huon/ quod the admyrall, ' I had rather be
hewyn al to peaces than to take your law and to4 for-
8 sake myne owne ' / Oberon than sayd to Huon, ' why
do ye tary to put hym to deth?' / than5 Huon lyft vp
his sworde and strake6 ther with the admyrall, that his Huon slays him
because he refuses
hede flewe fro hys sholders / than2 Oberon sayd to to be converted,
12 Huon, 'Now it lyeth well in thy power to be quyte
with7 Charlemayne' / than Huon tooke ye admyralles
hede and openyd his mouthe, and tooke out hys .iiii. and takes out his
four great teeth,
crete teth / and than cut of hys berde and tooke therof as and cuts off hi*
beard.
16 myche as pleasyd hym / than Oberon sayd, ' Now 8 thou
hast in thy handes the admyralles teth and berde /
looke, as well as thou louest thy lyfe, kepe them well.' oberon bids Huon
' * J r take good care of
'A, syr/ quod Huon, 'I requyre you9 put theym in these trophies,
20 suche a plase that19 they may be well kept / 2 so that I
may haue them11 in tyme of nede / for I fele my selfe
that my herte is so lyght / that12 other I shall forgete
them or elles lese them ' / ' of this13 thou say est,' quod
24 Oberon, 'I thynke thou spekest wyslye / 14 1 do wysh
them in Gerames syde in suche maner that they shall and by his power
of enchantment
do hym no hurte ' / he had no soner spoken the worde / causes them to be
but by the wyll of god and the power that he had in15 frames' side so
28 the fayrye / they were closyd in Gerames syde in suche see them,
wyse that no man coude se them / than he sayde to JJJJ ai\y hurt^rom
Huon / ' frende, I must go to my castell of Momure / I oberon takes
desyre you to do well / ye shall take witJi you Esclara- J^J bids^mtake
32 monde, doughter to the admyrall. But I charge you |J?t<J^<£de
on payne of your lyfe, and in as myche as ye fere to France,
1 be. 2 and. 3~ 3 if he would. 4 omitted.
6 whereuppon. 3 after therwith. 7 king.
* Fol. xxxviii. col. 1. 9 to. 10 where. u again.
" as. 13 that. 14 therefore. 16 by.
Digitized by
154
but avoid all
intercourse with
her till they are
married at Rome.
HUON OF BURDKUX.
[Ca. xlvi.
Huon promises to
obey Oberon.
A beautiful ship
is made ready by
Oberon for
Huon's journey.
Oberon foretells
great misery for
Huon.
Esclaramonde Is
made a Christian,
and Huon's
cousin is wedded
to a converted
Admiral,
displease me / that ye be not so hardy1 to company
with her bodely tyll2 ye be maryed together in ye cyte
of Home / and3 yf thou dost the contrary / thou shalt
fynde suche pouerte and mysery, that though thou 4
haddest doble ye myschyefe that thou hast had sens
thou camyst out of Fraunce, 4 it shulde4 be no thynge
in regarde to5 that / that shall fall to the here after yf
thou breke my commaundement.' ' Syr/ quod Huon, 8
' by y* pleasure of our lord Ihmi Cryst I shall 6 be well
ware6 of doynge of any thynge agaynst your pleasure.'
Then Oberon aparelyd a ryche shyppe, well garnyshyd
with chambers, and hangyd so rychely that it was 12
incredable to be her 1 or sene / there was no cord / but
it was of gold and sylke / yf I shulde shew you the
beaute and ryches of this shyppe, it shulde7 be ouer
longe to resyte it / whan the shyppe was fournyshyd 16
with vytaylles / than he put theriu his horses / than
Oberon took leue of Huon, and kyssyd and embrasyd
hym, 8 9 sore wepynge9 / whan Huon saw hym wepe he
had greate meruayle, and sayd, 'Dere sir, for what 20
cause do you wepe 1 ' ' Huon/ quod h*, ' the thynge
that mouyth me thus to do / is by cause I haue 10 of the10
grete petye / for yf thou knewest the pouerte and
mysery that thou shalt endure / there is no membre11 24
thou hast but that12 shulde7 trymble for fere / for I know
for certen / that thou hast so myche to suffer / that
13 therein is13 none humayne tonge can reherse it* / and
then Oberon departyd without more spekynge / whan 28
Huon saw Oberon departe he was ryght pensyue / but
his 14 grete 14 you the put hym out of his sorow / and16
made his ordynaunce in the cyte, and crystenyd ye
fayre lady Esclaramonde, and after dyd marye his 32
Cosyn Heylye16 to an admirall of the countre who was
1 as. 2 vntill. 3 for. 4-4 yet can it. 6 of. well beware.
7 would. 8 Fol. xxxviii. col. 2. 9-9 greatly lamenting.
10-10 afUr pitye. n that. 12 it. 13~13 omitted.
14—14 sweetness of. 15 Then hee. 16 Sibilla.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xlvi.] of huon'b love for esclaramonde. 155
newly crysteny J / and Huon gaue to tlieym the cyte of who become* the
" ruler of Babylon.
Babylon and all that longed therto. Thaw he made &
ordeyned a lytell shyppe to go with his owne shyppe,
4 to thentent to send a lond for vytaylles whan nede
1 requyred 1 / than he and his company went in to his
grete shyp, & so toke leue of his cosyn that was newly
maryed, who was ryght sorowfull for his departynge.
8 Than they lyft 2 vp theyr say lies / and had a good
freshe3 wynde, and so say lied tyll they were out of the Huon and ins
company pass the
ryuer of Nile / & so passyd by Damiet and came in to »iver.
the hye see and had wynde at wyll / and on a day4 they'
12 sat at dyner and made good chere / for by reason of his
cup they had wyne at theyr pleasure. * A, good lorde/
quod Huon, 'greatly I am bounde to thanke you5/
that I haue such a cuppe and home and harnes6 / for
16 whan so cuer I wyl7 bio we my home I can haue men
ynow to come to ayde me / and also I haue the admy-
ralles berde and grete teth / and8 specyally the fayre
lady Esclaramonde, whom I loue so parfyghtly 9 that I9
20 am so 10 in amoures10 with her fayre body / that I can no Huon cannot
lenger endnure it / how be it, the dwarfe Oberon to Esclaramonde.
mocke me hath J2deffercdyd me in any wyse12 that I
sholde not touche her in no13 wyse. But I wyll well14
24 that he knowe / that in this case I wyll not obey hym /
for she is myn owne, therfore I wyll do with her at
my pleasure.' whan Gerames herde hym, he sayd,
' A,15 syr, what wyll ye do 1 Ye knowe well Oberon Gerames warns
28 neuer as yet made any lye 16 to you16 / but alwayes ye remember
haue founde hym trew / for yf he had not been,17 both com'mand*1*8*
you and we all had ben lost or18 this tyme. And now 19
ye wolde breke his commaundement / yf ye touche this
32 lady or20 the tyme come that he hath sette you, greate
*— 1 should require. 2 set. 8 faire. 4 as.
6 kinge Oberon. 6 armour. 7 shall. 8 but 9— 9 and.
10-10 enamoured. 11 Fol. xxxviii. back, col. 1.
tt-ii forbidden me strictly. 13 any. H after that he.
15 Alas. l*-16 omitted. 17 so. 18 before. 10 againe. 20 ere.
Digitized by
156 HUON OF BUBDBUX. [Ca. xlvi.
Hut Huon win not mysforlune shall fall therby ' / ' Gerames,' quod Huon /
'for you / nor for none1 other 2I shall not leue2 / but
or3 I departe I wyll haue of her my pleasure ; and yf
any of you be afrayed, I am contente he shall departe 4
in this lytell shyppe and goo where as4 he lyst / and
take vytayle in to it for there5 prouysyon.' ' Syr/
quod Gerames, ' sen6 ye wyll do none other wyse, I am
Gcrome* declares ryght sorowfull / and I wyll departe, and so wyll do4 8
he will leave the
ship, all oure other company. Thara Gerames departyd out
and with thirteen of the grete shyppe and enteryd in to ye lytell shyppe,
men enters a
little boat and and .xiii. in his company / & Huon taryed sty 11 with
goes away. ^ lady.' and whan he sawe that all his company 12
was departyd, he went & made redye a bed, & sayd to
the lady / 'dame,7 surely I must8 haue my pleasure of
you* / whan she herde Huon / she fell downe sore
wepynge, and humbly desyred Huon that he wolde for- 16
bere her company vnto9 the tyme10 they were11 maryede
together / accordynge to the promyse that he had made
to kynge Oberon / ' fayre lady,' quod Huon, ' none
excuse can auayle / for it must be thus ' / than he 20
Huon and tooke the lady and made her goo to bed / and there
take their they took together theyr pleasures / he had no sonner
pleasure together. accomp}y8ny^ his wyll / but there rose suche a meruel-
so^n after a ous tempest / that the wawes of 12 the see semyd so greate 24
aruen, and hye as mounteyns / and therwith it blew and thon-
deryd and lyghtenyd that it was13 ferefull to beholde
the see / and the shyppe was so sore tormentvd / that
and the ship is 14 the shyppe brast14 all to peces, so that there abode15 28
broken to pieces.
but one pece of tymbre where apon Huon and the
lady was / and it happy d so well for them that they
Huon and were nere to an yle, and thether the wynde draue
d^rro^°toa!iHr0 them / & whan they sawe10 they were there arvuyd, 32
island.
1 any. 2—2 will I not forbear. 8 ere. 4 omitted.
6 his. 6 seeing. 7 Madame. 8 now.
9 vntill. 10 that. 11 should be.
12 Fol. xxxviii. back, col. 2. 13 very. 14~H it burst.
15 remained.
Digitized by
Ca. xlvii.] how huon is shipwrecked. 157
and that they were on the londe, they both kneled
downe & thankyd our lord Iesu Cryst that they
were1 scapyd the parell of drownynge / the other
4 company that were in the lytell shyppe / draue at The uttie «hip in
auenture in the see, and they cryed to oure lorde Iesu oerames and his
Cryst to saue them fro drownyng / 2 they had sene well ^ti^diitreeeed.
howe the shyppe with Huon and the lady was broken nws^hip *M
8 in the see, wherfore they thought surely that Huon J^ftjj^ and
and the lady was pereshyd. Now lette vs leue spek- |^TeE^Jj^onde
ynge of3 Huon of Burdeux & of 4 ye fay re Esclaramonde.
% How Huon and Esclaramonde aryued in
12 an yle all naked, & howe the pyrates of
the see tooke Esclaramonde and left Huon
alone, and bounde his handes and fete and
iyen. Capitulo .xlvii.
r Han Huon and Esclaramounde sawe
howe they were dryuen a londe all
naked, peteously wepyng they enteryd
in to the yle, where as theyr dwelt The isUnd which
nother man nor woman / but the Bed^monde are
erthe was so fay re and grene that5 ioy it was to se it / tahabiteiita!11
it 6 7 was happy for them that the wether was so fayre
and hote / so7 they hidde them8 in the grene herbes,9
24 to then tent they shold not be parseyued / 10 the lady
wept peteously / than11 Huon sayd,12 'fayre4 lady, be Theyeeekto
not abasshyd / for if we dye for loue we shall not be the other!*
fyret / for trystram dyed for the loue of the fayre Isoude,13
28 and she for hym ' / and so al wepyng they clyppyd
and kyssyd eche other, and as they lay wrappyd in
the grene grasse / ther arueyd .x. sarazyns in a lytell
1 so well. 8 for. 8 of them, returning again to.
* omitted. 6 great 6 Fol. xxxix. col. 1.
7-7 it was likewise so faire & hot that 8 selues.
9 grasse. 10 still. 11 and. 12 vntoher.
13 Isoluda.
Digitized by
158
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xlvii.
A little vessel
brings
ten Saracen
pirates to the
place.
Huon hears them
coming to
where he and
Esclaramonde
lay,
and rises.
Approaching
them he begs
them for some
bread.
The pirates learu
his sad story,
and give him two
loaves,
vessell, and1 enteryd in to the yle, 2& toke2 freshe water
& other thynges that they nedyd / than they Sayd cche
to other, ' lette vs goo forth in to this yle and se yf we
can fynde any aduenture' / they3 were pyrates of the 4
see, and had seruyd hefore the ad my rail Gaudys,
father to 4 the fayre4 Esclaramonde. Huoh, who was
with his louer in the grene herbes5 / herd how nere to
them was people comyng / he thought to go to them to 8
se yf he myght get any mete. 'Dere louer/ quod
Huon, 1 1 praye you goo not hense / tyll I retourne.'
'Syr/ quod she, 'god he your gyde / but I requyre
you re6tourne agayne shortely' / than he departyd 7 as 12
so 7 naked as he was borne / and so came to them or8
they had dyned / 9 he salutyd them <fe desyryd them
humblye for the loue of god to gyue hym sum brede /
one of them answeryd & sayd / 'frende, thou shalt 16
haue ynough / but we praye the shew vs what aduen-
ture hath brought the nether.' 1 Syr,' quod Huon,
1 the tempest of the see hathe brought me hether, for
the shyppe that I was in pereshyd, and all my company.' 20
WHan they herd hym they had grete petye, and
gaue hym .ii. loues of brede / Huon toke them
and departyd & thanked10 them, and4 went11 to his
louer,12 and gaue her parte of ye brede, wherof she was13 24
glade, then the pyrates that had gyuen Huon the brede
sayd one to an other, ■ this man that is thus gone fro vs14
can not be but that he hath sum15 company / therfore
lette vs goo preuely16 after hym, and peraduenture we 28
shall fynde out his company, for 17 we thynk17 yf he
were alone he wolde not18 haue come to vs* / ' lette vs
go and se/ quod all the other, ' and not retourne tyll
we knowe y* trouthe/ than they went all together and 32
1 who. 2-2 to take. 8 those men. *- 4 omitted.
* grasse. 6 Fol. xxxix. col. 2. 7~7 all as. 8 before.
9 where. 10 thanking. 11 baeke. 12 Loue.
18 not a little. 14 surely it. 15 other. 16 presently.
mee thinkes. 18 so.
Digitized by
Ca, xlvii.] huon and esclaramonde on a deskrt island. 159
foolowed Huon as preuely as they coude / and whan but they follow
him when he
they came nere where as he was they saw hym and the returns to
- , Esclaramonde,
lady nere1 by hym etynge of ye brede that tney nad and see the two
4 gyuen hym / than2 they stode styll and aduysyd them together/
to se yf they coude haue any knolege of hym or of the
lady. And3 amonge them there was one that sayd,
'Syrs, neuer beleue me, but this lady is the fayre The Saracens
recognize
8 Esclaramonde, doughter to the admyrall Gaudys / and Esclaramonde
he that is with her is the same frencheman that fought because they had
yvith Gallaffer4 and slew hym / and also ye admy6rall. Atoinu^court.
It is happy that we haue fouwde them, and specyally
12 that he is naked, without armure, for yf that he were
armed, oure lyues were but short ' / whan they knew
surely6 that it was Esclaramonde, doughter to the
admyrall Gaudys / they than approchyd nere to them /
16 and cryed alowde, and sayd, 7< A, dame7 Esclaramonde, They reproach
Esclaramonde
your nyenge away auayleth you nothynge, for by you with the death of
& your meanes your father hath been slayne by ye thefe
that sytteth there by you / certenly 8 we shall brynge and threaten to
20 you to your vncle Iuorym of mombrant / who shall uncle ivoryn,
take of you suche correccyon that ye shalbe an en-
sample to all other, and ye lechour that is by you
shalbe2 flayne 9 all quycke9' / whan the lady sawe and to km Huon.
24 these paynyms, she was ryght sorowfull and sore
dyscomfortyd / than she kneled downe and helde up
her handes and prayed them humbly / that they wolde Esclaramonde
haue petye on y* frencheman / and as for her owne lyfe, ulS^ f°r Ha°n *
28 she dyd put it to there10 pleasures, other to alee her
or to drowne her or to bryng her to her vncle. 1 And,
syrs,11 I swere by Mahounde that if ye wyll graunt my
request / yf I can be agreed with myne vncle Iuorym /
32 I shall do you all suche pleasure that ye & all yours
shall be ryche for euer after. And12 lytell shall ye
1 hard. * there. 3 Now. * Agrapart.
* Fol. xxxix. back, col. 1. • certainly. 7-7 Madame.
8 therefore. before your face. 10 owne.
11 (quoth shee.) 12 for.
Digitized by
160
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xlviii.
wynne by the deth of one poore man.' 4 Dame/1 quod
which they agree they / ' we are well content to leue hym here ; but we
M BP*re' shall do hym all the shame and rebuke that we caw,
that he shall2 remembre it3 euer after ' / than they toke 4
Huon / and layd hym on the grene grasse / and than
but they bind his dyd bynd4 his iyen / 6 handes and fete / so that the
eyes, hands, and
feet, blode brast6 out at the7 nayles, wherby he was in suche
and torture him*
dystres that he sownyd thre tymes and peteously called 8
on oure lorde god to haue petye of hym and to forgyue8
his 8ynnes / whan the swete Esclaramonde sawe her
louer Huon so handelyd / and that she sholde departe
fro hym / to shew the petyefull compleyntes that she 12
made it 9 were impossyble. Also Huoti made peteous
Esclaramonde is compleyntes whan his louer 10 Esclaramond departyd, the
p^teslyby which greuyd hym more thaw his owne payne that he
sufiferyd. Now we shall leue spekynge of hym and 16
nspeke of11 the fayre Esclaramonde.
% How the fayre Esclaramonde was led a way
with the pyrates of the see / and how the
admyrall Galaffer of Ansalerne delyueryd 20
her out of there handes. Ca. .xlviii.
Owe sheweth the hystory 13 whan
these theues had taken & bound
Huon, handes / fete & iyen / they 2
Huon is left alone ^^S^MV^JMf ^ ^m a^oue13 ™ the yle, & toke
the fayre Esclaramonde & brought
her in to theyr shyppe / than they gaue her a gowne
and a mantell furryd with ermyns / for they were 28
robbers of the see, and had myche good in theyr
shyppe / than they sayled forth nyght and day / at
on the island.
1 Ladie. 8 may. 3 for. 4 blind. 6 and binde his.
• buret 7 his. 8 him. 9 Fol. zxxix. back, col. 2
10 Loue. 11—11 say what happened afterward to.
18 how that 13 alone.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xlviii.] op the capture op esolaramonde. 161
last a wynd Hoke them whether they wolde or not / Esciaramonde
they aryued at the port of Anfalerne ; & the same tyme the Saracens,
the ad my rail there was newly rysyn fro his dyner, and ^A^AnWerne!
4 stode lenynge out at a windowe in his palays / and
then2 he parseyuyd ye shyppe that lay at ancre in y* and the Admiral,
hauen / & saw the baners & stremers wauinge with the his palace,
wynde / wherby3 he wel parseyuyd that ye shyppe per- perceives from
their ship that
8 teynyd to kynge Iuoryn of Mombrant / than4 he with they. are subjects
of King Ivoiyn.
his lordes went downe to the hauen. Than he cryed
out alowde / and sayd, ' Syrs, what marchaundys haue The Admiral
ye brought V /'syr,' quod they, 'we haue brought merchandise the
12 sendalles & clothes of sylke / wherfore, sir, yf we shal 8hlp carrie"
pay any tribut or custorae, we are redy to pay it at
your pleasure ' / than Galaffer, y* admirall, sayd / ' I
know well ynough yf ye sholde pay any trybute ye
16 sholde not chose but 5 to 6 do it. But, -syrs, I pray you
tell me what dameseli is thai6 I se in your shyppe sore and who u the
. . damsel with
wepynge ? • Syr, quod they, ' it is a sclaue, a crysten them,
woman, whom we bought at Damiet.' The lady herd They reply
20 well how the admyral demaundyd for her, &7 what
answer ye maryners had made / than she cryed out
alowd and sayd, ' A, syr admyrall, for ye loue & honowr
of Mahounde I pray you haue petye on me, for I am
24 no sclaue, for8 I am dough ter to the admyrall Gaudys butEsdara-
monde declare*
of Babylone / who is deed & slayne by a frencheman / her parentage.
these9 maryners here hath taken me J & wolde carye me
to myne vncle, kynge Iuoryn of Mombrant / and I
28 know surely, yf he had me, he wolde byrne me 6 in a
fyer.'6 'Fayre ladye/ qwod the admyrall, 'dysmay
you not / for ye shall abyde with me whether they The Admiral
ii i i i i % i promises to
wyll or not / than he commauwdyd ye maryners to release her,
32 bryng ye lady to hym / <&8 they answeryd10 they wolde
not so do / than y* admirall commaundyd to take her
1 Fol. xl. col. 1. 1 when. 3 thereby. 4 whervppon.
*— 6 omitted. 6 which. 7 likewise. 8 but
• the. 10 that.
CHARL. ROM. VI. M
Digitized by
162 huon op burdeux. [Ca. xlviii.
and fight* for her fro them perforce / 1 than they of the shyppe began to
with the pirate* r ' J
whom he over- make defence. But anone they were all alayne, & the
lady taken, & brought to the admyrall / and2 had grete
ioy therof / how be 3 it, he was sory by cause one of them 4
that were in ye shyppe skapyd away & fled to Mom-
brant / how be it,4 y* admyrall caryd not gretely for
it / syn6 he had ye lady, whom he brought in to his
palays / whan ye admirall saw her so exceeding fayre / 8
The Admiral he was taken in6 loue, so that incontynent he wolde
falls in lore with ' J
Eeciaramonde. haue maryed her after the sarazyns lawe / wherof she
was ryght sorowf ull, & sayd, ' Syr, reason it is that I do
your pleasure, syn6 ye haue ryd me out of ye handes of 12
beg^um1 °to* t^ese pyrates of the see. But, syr, I requyre you for
a while before the loue that ye bere me that ye wyll forbere your
making her hie
wife. pleasure at this present tyme / for, str, I haue made a
faythfull vow & promyse / that for a yere & a day fro 16
hense forth I wyll not lye7 nor touch any man bodely8 /
of 9 the whiche auow, syr, I am nowe sory 10 of for ye
loue of you / for.10 syr, I am ryght ioyfull that ye wolde11
me so myche honour as to haue me to your wyfe / oure 20
greate god Mahounde rewarde you / and,12 syr, for y*
loue of hym I pray you be content tyll13 myn auow
be acumplyshyd' / 'fayre lady,' quod he, 'know for
trouthe / that for the honoure of my god Mahounde, & 24
for the loue of you, I am content to tary this yere / ye,
& yf it were .xx. yere / than14 to be sure of your loue.'
' Syr/ q?*od she, ' Mahounde rewarde you ' / than16 she
she pray» to sayd to her selfe, 'A, dere lord god Jesu Cryst, humbly 28
Chriet to gire her ,
strength to I requyre thee to gyue me that grace to kepe my troutn
Huon. to my louer Huon, for or16 I shall do the contrary I
shall suffer as myche payne & dolowre17 as euer woman
1 and. 8 who. 3 Fol. xL col. 2. 4 notwithstanding.
5 seeing. 6 her. 7 with. 8 boldly, 9 for.
euen for the loue that I beare to you, but 11 will doe.
12 now. 13 vntill. 14 then after loue. 16 but
16 ere. 17 greefe.
Digitized by
Ca. Xlix.]. OP IVORYN, THE UNCLE OP ESCLARAMONDE.
163
dyd / nor 1for fere of deth I shal neuer breke my
troupe.'1 Now leue we to speke of her, <fc speke 2 of
the thefe that scapyd out of the shyppe.
4 % How the pyrat fled to Mowbra^t to Iuoryn /
& how he sent to defy the Admyrail
Galaffer of Anfalerne,' and of the answer
that he had.8 Capitulo .xlix.
E haue herd here before how the fayre
Esclaramonde was rescued6 by the
Admyrail Gallaffer / and of the maner
that she founde to kepe her selfe trew
to Huon, & how one of the maryners mm of
scapyd away and fled by londe, and at last6 came to the folSneuSdof tht
cyte of Mombrant, where as he founde Iuoryn, to whom GwidUwu
he shewed all the hole mater as ye haue herde / and brot^wironTi,
16 howe his brother ye admyral Gaudys was slayn by a 2<^ant.°f
yong frenche knyght / and howe he & his company
founde the sayd knyght 'and your7 nece the fayre
Esclaramonde / whom we8 had thought to haue brought
20 to you.9 But10 y* Admyrail Gallaffer hathe taken them
fro vs by force, and hath taken our shyppe and slayn
all your men that were within,11 so that none scapyd but
I alonely.' 12 whan kynge Iuoryn vnderstode y6 maryner
24 he sayd, 'A, syr 18 Mahounde, how haue you sufferyd
that my brother Gaudys hathe thus peteously be
alayne / and also my nece hys doughter to consent
therto / certenly the doloure14 that I fele at my herte
28 constrayneth me rather to desyre 16 the 16 deth than lyfe. ivoryn u
a j i - i »» . • indignant that tht
And also, moreouer, to se hyra that is myn owne Admiral, who u
subget, and 15 he that15 holdeth his londes of me / to JioilStoid hu
kepe my nece and thus to slee my men. Alas, I can not E^Iramonda.
i—i and I will neuer breake my troth for fere of deth.
* §ay somewhat 3 there. 4 Fol. xl. back, col. 1.
6 receiued. 6 he. * his. 8 they. • him.
w quoth he. 11 it. 12 alone. 13 mightie.
14 greefe. omitted.
M 2
Digitized by
Google
164 huon op burdbux. [Ca. xlix.
well saye what I sholde do therin / a lytell thyng wolde
cause me to slee myselfe.' Than in great dyspleasure
he called his lordes, & causyd the maryner to come
before them / & there he made hym to shew agayne all 4
the mater before them all:1 how his brother ye admiral!
Gaudys was slayne, & also how the ad my rail Gallaffer /
helde by force his nece, & how he had slayne his
men / 3whan the lordes had herd 3all this,3 they sayd4 8
His lord* advise to Iuoryn, * Syr, our aduyce is that ye sholde sende
that a message
be sent to the one of your secrete messengers to the admyrall GallafFer /
Admiral,
bidding him give & cottimauttd hym incontynent to sende you your
toMivory^nde °P nece / 5 and to make amendes in that he hath slayne 12
w^rauon for the your men / and tnat ne sende you worde by wrytyng
deathtf bis wh&t cause hath moued hym thus to do / and yf it be
so that pryde doth so surmont6 hym that he wyll not
obey your commaundementes / than by a iust quarell 16
ye may go and make warre vpon hym, and take fro hym
all hys londes that he holdeth of you ' / whan Iuoryn
vnderstode his lordes / he sayd, 1 syrs, I parseyue well
your opynyow is good ' / 7 than a messenger was 20
An enroy is sent, appoyntyd and his charge gyuen hym, & so8 departyd,
and arrives at
Anfaierne. and rode so longe that9 he came to Anfalerne, where as8
he founde ye admyrall Gallaffer / whom he salutyd in
y* name of Mahounde / & than he declared his message 24
at lenght / 10 whan10 Gallaffer herd his message, he sayd,
'frende, go & saye to kinge Iuoryn, that as for y*
The Admiral will delyueraunce of his nece, I wyll not so3 do11 / & as for
not obey Ivoryn's
command. his men that be12 slayne, it was13 theyr owne foly, & 28
as touchynge that I sholde come to hym / I wyll not
come at hym / lette him do what he caw / 14 yf he come
&u assayle me I shall defende as well as I can ' / whan
y* messenger herd that he sayd / 'str admyrall, sen16 32
1 both. 8 which. «-» omitted. * thus.
6 Fol. xl. back, col. 2. • in. * and. 8 he. 9 till,
lo—io assoone as. 11 it 11 are. 13 through.
14 but. u to. 10 seeing.
Digitized by
Ca. Xlix.] HOW THE ADMIRAL DEFIES IVORYN. 165
ye wyll do none other wyse / in the name of our god The messenger
__. io« n 11 11 11 f threatens his
Mahound, & in y* name of ye 1 admyrall Gallaffer, I lands with Are
desyTe you1 / & he sendeth you worde by me that he
4 wyll leue you nother cyte / towne, nor castell / but he
wyll put them all to flame & fyer / nor leue you one
' fote of londe / &2 also yf he may take you ye shall dye and himself with
" a shameful death.
a shamfull deth/
8 ^| Whan the admyrall saw howe he was defyed /
.he was more inflamed than a byrnynge fyer
brond, & sayd to ye messenger / * go & say to thy lord The Admiral
defies the King
that I set no thiwge by his thretenynge / &, yf I ivoryn.
12 may know when he corny th, I shal do hym that honour
that I wyll not abyd tyll he enter in to my countre /
but I shal8 mete with him before / & say vnto hym fro
me / that yf 1 can take hy?n I shal sone ryd his soule
16 out of his body.' so ye messenger departyd / & cam
to mombrant / 4 whan Iuoryn saw hym he sayd / * frend,
what sayth 5Galaffer? wyll he sende me my nece?'
' Syr/ quod the messenger / * he wyll not do it / he The Admiral's
11111 i / rePty 18 reported
20 sayth he dough tyth you no thynge / and, yf ye be so to King ivoryn.
hardy to come & assay le hym, he wyll mete with you
before & fyght with you, & I herd hym swere that yf
he may take you he wyll slee you without mercy ' /
24 whan Iuoryn herd that / he swet for anger, & was in The King is
that case6 he coude 7speke no7 worde of a longe space / mStfhl "In
&,2 whan he had sum what asswagyd his yre, he aware by o^fTwerae^nd
his god Mahounde that he shold neuer haue ioy nor "Iay **** Admira1,
28 myrthe at his herte / tyll he had destroyed the towne
of Anfalerne, & slayn the admyrall Galaffer / than in
hast he sente for all his lordes / & vritli them concludyd
to send for all his men of warre, & gaue them day to be
32 with him within .xv. dayes before Mombrant / the
whiche thynge was done / for at that day they were all
1 great king Iuoryn heere I defie you. 2 but
3 will. 4 where. 6 Fol. xli. col. 1. 6 that.
7-7 not Bpeke one.
Digitized by
166 HUON OP burdkux. [Ca. 1.
™iSS 18 assembled / as ye shall here 1 after. Now 2leue thystorye2
to speke of them & 3retournes to speke of kinge
Oberon.
% How kynge Oberon, at the request of .ii. 4
knyghtes of the fayry called Gloryant &
Mallebro# the mobster of the see, went
& socouryd Huon, & carryed hym out of
the yle Noysaunt. Ca. .1. 8
Owe 4sheweth thystory,4 that Kynge
Oberon the same tyme that Huon
was in the yle Noisaunt / was in
his wood where as he was accus- 12
tomyd 6moost parte for5 to be con-
uersauwt, by cause the place was flmyche delectable
6 farre fro people / 7 he sat hym down vnder a fay re
oberon deplores oke / than8 he began to wepe & compleyned / whan 16
Huon, Gloryant, a knyght of y* fayry / saw hym / he had
grete meruayle, & demauwdyd of hym why he 9 made so
gret doloure9 / ' Gloryant/ quod y* 10 kiwge Oberon /
' the periuryd Huon of Burdeux cause th me thus to do / 20
end lament* thmt whom I haue11 perfyghtly louyd, & yet he hath12
he has disobeyed
his command- trespassyd my cowniaundemettte* / for whan 13 1 departyd
fro hym I causyJ hym to haue the admyrall Gaudys at
his pleasure / & also I made hym to haue the fayre 24
Esclaramonde, yc adniyralle* doughter / & also I haue
gyuen hym my ryche home of yuory & my good cuppe /
the whiche he hath lost by his pryde & foly / &
therfore he hath ben ponyshyd, &14 lyeth all naked, 28
bounde handes & fete, & his iyen stoppyd,15 in an yle / in
y* whiche place I shall16 sufifre hym to dyeir myserably.'
1 here. 1-2 leaueth the Historic. 5—3 returneth againe.
*-* the history sheweth. 6~* after where. 6 very.
7 there. 8 and. 9~9 lamented so much, 10 omitted.
" alwayes. 1S still. 13 Fol. xlL col. 2. " now he.
" blindfolded. 16 will 17 most.
Digitized by
Ca. 1.] HOW MALABHON SEEKS TO AID HUON.
167
'A,1 syr,' qiiod Gloryant / 'for ye honoure of our lord QiorUnt begs
Jesu Cryst / call to your remerabraunce how that by mercy upon the
godde* own mouth Adam & Eue 2 was dyffendyd2 fro knight'
4 ye etyiige of 8 fruyte that was in paradyce / 4 the whiche4
by theyr fragylyte brake goddes coraniaundement ; how
be it, our lord god had grete petye of them, & therfore,
sir, I praye you haue pyte of Huon ' / than Mallebron
8 stept forth & sayd, 1 A,5 sir, for ye honour & reuerence Maiabron beg*
permission to go
of our lord god I desyre you to graunt me this one tow* aid.
tyme that I may go & ayde hym ' / whan Oberon saw
how he was sore6 desyryd of Gloryant & Mallebron, he
12 was sore dyspleasyd; 7 he answeryd &7 sayd / ' Malle-
bron, it pleaseth me 8 well that this caytyue Huon, who oberon grant*
Malabrou's
endureth8 myche payne, be vysytyd by thee, 9 for y* request under
which9 I condempne thee to be .xxviii. yeres a monster conditions.
16 in y* see, beside .xxx. yere that thoxx art inioynyd to all
redy / but10 I wyll11 thou gyue hym none other counsell
nor ayde / but alonely to bero hym out of ye yle that He is to place
. . . ' , Huon on the
he is in, & to set hym on yc mayne londe / than let main land,
20 hym go whether thatu he wyl, for I desyre neuer more
harne814 / feche them theyr, as he15 lost them* 'A,5
24 sir,' quod Gloryaunt,16 1 greate payne ye put hym vnto,
whan for so small17 offence ye are so sore displeasyd with
Huon / & as for the harnes14 that ye wolde haue agayne,
ye know well howe Huon of Burdeux dyd conquere
28 it / he had ben lost yf it had not bene / grete yll
ye shall do yf ye cause hym not to haue it agayne.
18 But, syr, sen19 I haue lycence to brynge hym out of the
yle, I pray you shew me in what plase is the yls where
1 Not so. 2-* were forbidden. 3 the. 4-4 yet they.
6 alas. 6 so earnestly. T— 7 and answering.
8 no. 9-» therefore. 10 now. 11 that.
u omitted, 13 vnto. 14 armour. 16 hath,
w Mallabron. 17 an. 18 Fol. xli. back, col. 1.
10 since.
168
HUON OP BURDEUX.
The island where
Huon lie* is
called Noysant.
Malabron finds
Hoon there,
and unbinds him.
Malabron tells
him Oberon's
Huon complains
of Oberon's
hardness of
heart.
as he is.' Than Gloryant sayd / 4 brother MaUebrone /
this yle is nere to1 helle, & is callyd the yle Noysant* /
'well,' quod Mallebron, 'than I commend you all to
our lorde Ihem cryst* / and so2 departyd and came to 4
the see syde / 3 wha;* he cam there he lept in to the see
and began to swym as fast as the byrde flyeth in the
eyer / and so aryuyd in ye yle Noysaunt / and so came
to1 Huon / whom he founde sore wepynge, and sayd / 8
* syr Huon, I pray our lorde Ihesu Cryst to socoure &
ayde thee.9 1 A, very 4 god/ quod Huon, ' who is it6 that
speketh to1 meT / 'Huon,' quod he, 'I am a man
who loueth the, and am called Mallebron, & am a 12
best of the see who hathe or6 this tyme borne the ouer
the salt water to Babylon.' 'A, Mallebron, dero
brother/ quod Huon, 4 1 requyre the vnbynd me &
brynge me out of this dolouros payne ' / * with a ryght 16
good wyll/ quod Mallebron / than he dyd vnbynde
hym and openyd his iyes / whan Huon saw that he was
ryght ioyfull / & demaundyd who sent hym thether /
' Huon/ quod he, * know for trouthe5 / it was kinge 20
Oberon, & where as I was condewnyd before to be a
best of the see xxx yere, nowe for thy sake I must
endure so .xxviii. yere more / yet I care not for the
payne / for y* loue that I bere to1 the ; there is no payne 24
impossyble to1 me to bere / but I must bere7 agayne to1
Oberon the ryche home & cuppe & harnes8 / for so I
haue promysyd kyng Oberon to do.1 * A/ quod Huon,
* I pray to our lorde Ihesu Cryst to confounde y* 28
dwarfe who hath causyd me to endure all these paynes /
for so small an occasyon * / 1 Huon/ quod Mallebron,
* ye do yll to say soo / for ye haue no soner spoken it /
but that kynge Oberon doth know it ' / 1 certenly/ quod 32
Huon, * I care not what he can do ; he hath done me
so myche yll that I can neuer loue hym / but, stV, I
1 viito. 2 he.
6 before.
3 and.
7 carie.
4 deare.
8 armour.
6 that
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Ca. L] HOW HUON LEAVES THE DESERT ISLAND. 169
pray the tell me yf thow awylt bere me hense, or elles
whether that I shall2 byde here for euer ' / ' frond,1 quod
Mallebron, ' I shall3 bere thee out of this yle & sette the
4 on ye mayne londe / other ayde may I not do the ' 4 /
thaw Mallebron tooke on5 hym agayne his beste* skyn,
& sayd, ' 8*V, lepe vp apon me ' / than Huon lept vp on
his crope6 as naked as euer he was borne / than4 /
8 Mallebron lept in to ye7 & began to swym, & Came to Mal&bron swims
the mayne londe / & sayd / ' frend Huon, more seruyce main land,
can I not do to8 thee at this tyme / but I recommaunde and thei* le*ves
the% to ye kepinge of our lorde god, who sende thee
12 comforte / I9 must go & seke for the home / cuppe & him to *o in
harnes10 / y' which thow. wert wont to haue & enioy / horn, cap and
& I to11 bere them to8 kiwge Oberon,12 thus haue I a^mou^•
promysyd to do* / &9 / Huon was there all alone &
16 naked / &13 peteously compleynyd,14 & sayd, * A, good Huon pray* to
lorde, I requyre tJiee to ayde me / I know not where I hira^'iis*0^
am, nor whether I may go, yet yf I had clothes to helpI*Mne,l•,
couer my naked skyn I shuld haue sum comforte, 16 &
20 to15 go & seke sum aduenture / greatly I ought to hate y*
croked dwarfe Oberon, who hath brought me in16 all this
payne / but by ye fayth that I owe to8 god, sen17 he
hath left me thus / from hense forth to do hym the and declare* he
24 more spyte I shall make lyes ynowe / 1 shall not leue for wToiI^tSt 6
hym / *Aat18 1 recommaunde hym9 / to a .CM. deuelles' / hinT" **** d°n*
whan he had ben there a certen spase all alone / he
arose & lokyd al about hym, to se if he myght perseyue
28 any man passe by / by19 whom he myght haue any
socoure / 12he was nere famyshyd for lake of sustenaunce,
how be it, he thought to departe thense to seke sum
aduenture / he went on his way ; he went so farre that Huon journeys on
1 Fol. xli. back, col. 2. 2 must. 3 will. 4 and.
6 vppon. 0 backe. 7 Sea (omitted in Crawford MS.).
8 vnto. 9 now. 10 armour. 11 am. 12 for.
13 omitted. 14 complayning. 16~16 for then I might.
16 to. 17 seeing. 18 whom.
19 from.
Digitized by
170
HDON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. li
in hope of ■
fortunate
adventure.
he founde an aduenture / such as ye shall here / for
our lord Jh?*u cryat neuer forgetteth his frendes. 1
He sees an old
man sitting
under an oak tree
In a fair meadow.
Food and wine
are spread out
before him.
At his side lie a
harp and a viol.
The minstrel
offers Huon
clothing and
food.
The minstrel
is a man of
sorrow.
% How Huotf fouwde a mkstrell, who gaue
hym clothinge & mete, & toke Huon with 4
hym as his varlette, & went to Mombrant.
Ca. .li.
Han Huon had gone a greate way he
behelde on his ryght hande / and sawe 8
nere hym a lytyll wood by a fayre
medow side, and therin was stondyng
a grete oke full of leues / & there
beside was a clere founteyne, and there he saw an 12
aunsyent man with whyte heres syttynge vnder the oke /
& before hym he had a lytel cloth sprede a brode on
the grasse / & theron flessh & brede & wyne in a botell /
whan Huon saw the old man / he came to8 hym / & y- 16
aunsyent man sayd, ' A, thou wylde man, I pray the
for y* loue of mahounde do me no hurt / but take
mete & drynke at thy pleasure' / whan Huon saw
hym / he spyed lyeng beside hym an harp and a vyall 20
wheron he coude well play, for in all pagany there was
no mynstrell lyke him / ' frende,' quod Huon, ' thou
hast namyd me ryght / for a more vnhappy4 than I am
ther is none lyuynge ' / ' frende/ quod y* mynstreiJ, 24
' go to yonder male & open it, & take what thou, lykest
best to couer thy naked skyn / than come to me & ete
at thy pleasure ' / ' syr,' quod Huon, ' good aduenture
is come to3 me thus to fynde you / mahounde rewarde 28
you ' / ' syr,' quod the mynstrell, * I pray the come &
ete with me, & kepe me company / for thou shalt not
fynde a more sorowfull4 than I am.' ' By my fayth/
quod Huon, ' a companyon of your owne sort haue ye 32
1 seruanteB. 2 Fol. xlii, col. 1. 3 vnto. 4 man.
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Ga. li.] OF MOUFLET, THE MINSTREL.
171
founde / for there was neuer man that hath sufferyd so
myche pouerte as I laude1 be to2 hym that fourmyd
me / but sen3 I haue founde mete to ete, blyssyd by ye and Haon thanks
4 owre that I haue founde you / for ye seme to be a good welcome,
man 1 / than Huon went to ye male and tooke clothes,
& than came to2 the mynstrell & sat downe, & dyd ete
& drynke as myche as pleasyd hym / the mynstrell
8 behelde Huon, & saw how he was a fayre yong man
&4 courteys / & than he demaundyd of hym where he The minstrel
was borne, & by what aduenture he was aryued there Jfi and ** Wrth"
in that case that he was in / whan 5 Huon herde how the adNenture"'
12 mynstrell demaundyd of his estate / he began to study
in hymselfe whether he shulde shewe the trouthe or
eles to lye / than he callyd on6 our lord god & sayd,
'a, good lorde, yf I shew this man the trouthe of
16 myne aduenture I am but deed. A,7 Oberon, for a
small offence thou hast left me in thys case, for8 yf I
shew the trouthe of my lyfe to this man I am but deed ;
I shall neuer trust the more / but I wyll8 put al my
20 dedes9 in god / for the loue that I haue to my louer10
thou hast me in hate / but sen3 it is so, as often as I Haon resolves to
haue nede I shall lye, nor I shall not leue it for fere of defiance of
the / but rather do it in dyspyght of the ' / than Huon waging!
24 sayd to the mynstrell, * Syr, ye haue demaundyd of
myne estate, and as yet I haue made you none answer /
the trouthe is, I fynde my self so wel at myn ease that
I forgat to answer you / but I shal8 shew you, sen8
28 ye wold know it / syr, of certen I am11 borne of 12 the He declares that
countre of aufryke / and fell in company with dyuers Africa,
merchauntes by the see in a shyppe, thynkynge to haue
sayled to Damiet / but a grete mysfortune fell apon vs ;
32 there rose suche an orryble tempest that our shyppe and wu
pereshyd, and all that13 with in it none scapyd but I, and his way to
Damietta.
1 praise. 2 vnto. 8 seeing. 4 a. 8 FoL xlii. col. 2.
6 to. T and king. 8 now. 9 trust. 10 Loue.
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172
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. li.
The minstrel
tells how his
name is Mouflet,
and how his
master was the
Admiral
UuudUse,
whom a
Frenchman
basely slew.
Huon says his
name is Salater.
The minstrel
laments his
desolate
condition,
and longs to
revenge himielf
on his master's
murderer.
But he invites
Salater to follow
him to the
court of King
Ivoryn, the
brother of
Oaudisse.
I thanke mahounde that I am scapid alyue, therfore I
desyre you now to shew me your aduenture as I haue
shewyd you rayne' / 'frende,' quod the mynstrell,
' sen1 ye wyll know it / know for trouthe I am namyd 4
Mouflet / I am a mynstrell, as thou seest here by myne
instrumentes / and I say to2 the that fro hense to the
red see there is none so connynge in all instrumentes as
I am / and I can do many other thynges / and the 8
doloure that thou seest me make is by cause of late I
haue lost my good lorde and mayster, the admyrall
Gaudys / who was slayne myserablye by a vacabounde
of Fraunce callyd Huon / that mahounde shame hym / 12
and brenge hym to an yll deth, 8 for by hym I am fallen
in to pouerte and mysery. I pray the tell me thy
name'/ 'Syr/ quod Huon, 'my name is Salater.'
'Well,' quod the mynstrell, 'Salater, dysmay the not 16
for the grete pouertes that thou hast sufferyd / thou
seest what aduenture Mahounde hath sent the / thou
art nowe better arayed than thou wert / yf thou wylt
folowe my couyisell thou shalt haue no nede / thou 20
arte fayre & yonge / thou oughtest not to be dys-
mayed / but I that am old and auwsyent haue cause to
be dyscomfortyd / sen1 in myne old dayes I haue lost
my lord and mayster, the admyrall Gaudys, who dyd 24
me so mych good and profyte / I wold it pleasyd
mahounde that he that slew hym were in my power ' /
whan Huon herde that he spake no worde, but cast
downe his hede. ' Salater,' quod the mynstrell, ' sen1 28
my lord is deed, I wyll goo to Mombrant to kynge
Iuoryn / to shewe hym the de(h of his brother, the
admyrall Gaudys / and yf thou wylt abyde with me so
that thou wylt bere my fardell and harp a fote / or4 it be 32
halfe a yere past I waraunt6 thou shalt haue a horse /
for whan so euer thou shalt here me play vpon my
seeing.
2 vnto.
4 ere.
s Fol. xlii. back, col 1.
6 thee.
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Ca. li.] HOW HUON SERVES THE MINSTREL.
173
instrumentes / all the herers shall take therin suche
pleasure / that they shall gyue me bothe gownes &
mantelles, so that thou shalt haue myche a do to truss
4 them in my male/ 1 ' A/ after 1 quod Huon, 4 1 am
content to serue you and to do all your co??imaunde-
mentes.' Than Huon tooke the male in2 his necke & Huon fotiow»
Mouflet as his
the harpe in his hande / and Mouflet, his mayster, bare servant.
8 the vyall / & thus the mayster and the seruaunt went
on there way to go to Mombrant. 'A, good lord,'
quod Huon, ' my herte ought to be sorowfull when I
se myselfe in this case / that now I must become a
12 mynstrelles varlet. goddes curse haue Oberon the
dwarf e, who hath done me all this anoyaunce.8 Alas,
yf I had no we my good hemes4 / my home / and my
cuppe 6 1 wold reken all the sorow that I haue enduryd
16 at6 no thynge. A,7 whan I had .xiii. knyghtes to serue
me, how is the8 chaunse now toumyd that I9 must serue
a pore mynstrelL' whan Mouflet herd Huon make
suche sorow within hymselfe he sayd / ' dere brother Mouflet consoles
20 Salater, take good comfort / for 10 or it be10 to morow at who weeps
nyght, thou shalt se y* good chere that shalbe made to ^^le^suto.
me / wherof thou shalt haue parte / & of all ye goodes
that I can gette.' ' Mayster/ quod Huon, ' mahounde
24 rewarde you for the goodnes that ye haue shewyd me /
& shall do ' / thus the mayster & the seruant went
forth to gether deuysynge. at last Huon spied be-
hynde them comyng certen men of armes holdynge Five hundred
28 the way to Mombrant. ' Mayster/ quod Huon / * here them on their
behynde vs are commynge men in armure, I know not Jouruey'
yf 11 they wyll do vs any hurt or not ' ' Salater/ quod
Mouflet / * be not abashyd / we wyl abyde here &
32 know whether they wyll go ' / & w/tA in a while the
men of warre came to them / who were in nombre a12
l—i «"Well, Sir.' 2 on. s trouble. 4 armour.
• Fol. xlii. back, col. 2. 6 as. 7 But. « this.
9 myself. I0-10 before. 11 whether. " omitted.
174
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. liL
who are ileo
proceeding to
Mombrant.
They tell Haon
how they are
going to Join
King Ivoryn's
army,
which he is
assembling to do
battle with the
Admiral who
holds
Esclaramonde at
.v.c. persons / the mynstrell saiutyd them and sayd,
'Syrs, I pray you shew me wheder ye wyll go' /
' f rend/ quod one of them / ' by cause we se that ye be
a ientyll mynstrell I shall shewe you / we are goynge 4
to kynge Iuoryn of Mombrant / who wyll1 go and
make ware vpon ye admyrall Gallaffer / by cause that
now of late / the damesell Esclaramonde, doughter to
the admyrall Gaudys, passyd by Anfalarne / who sholde 8
haue ben brought to her vncle, kynge Iuoryn of Mom-
brant / but the admyrall Gallaffer toke her by force /
& slew all them that lede her / & hath maryed the
fayre Esclaramonde / wherof kyng Iuoryn is as sorow- 12
full as may be / & for that cause we be sent for by
kynge Iuoryn / who is *in mynde2 to assemble all his
power / to go & dystroy ye admyrall Galaffer. Now I
haue shewyd you the cause of our goynge to the cy te 1 6
of Mombrant. '
Huon propose* to
Mouflet that they
should go to the
war.
The minstrel
refuses,
and arrives at
King Ivoryn's
court.
% 8 Howe Huon and his mayster Mouflet
aryued at Mombrant, and how Huon spake
with kyng yuoryn. Cap. .lii. 20
, Hen Huon of Burdeux vnderstode the
paynyms how they were goynge where
as4 the lady Esclaramonde was / he was
surpry8ed,6 and sayde to his mayster / 24
'pyr, I requyre you let vs go to the
warre with tlie?n ' / ' salater/ quod Mouflet, 4 beware
what thou say est / for there6 as warre is I wolde not
come there for ony thynge.' Thus they wente forthe 28
tyll7 they came to Mombrant / and wente strayte to the
palayes, where as he8 founde kynge yuoryn & all his
barons / when the mynstrell sawe hym / he saluted hym
in the name of Mahounde / and sayd, ' syr, I am ryght 32
dolorous for the newes that I brynge you / for, syr,
1 needs. *-* minded. * Fol. xliii. col. 1.
6 with ioye. 6 where. 7 vntill.
« omitted.
8 they.
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Google
Ca. lii.] how huon visits ring ivorys.
175
your brother, my lorde & mayster, tlie Admyrall
Gaudys / is pyteously slayne.' 4 Mouflet/ quod
yuoryn, 'these newes hathe ben broughte to1 me be-
4 fore this tyme, wherof I am sory2 / & also I am sory
for my nece, the fayre Esclaramonde / who is kept
fro me / by ye Admyrall Galafer / & for ony message
that I can sende to hym / he wyll not sende her3 to
8 me. But by the faythe that I owe to my god
Mahounde, I shall make hym suche warre that the The King
memory therof shall be had a" hondred yere hereafter / intention*!)"
for I shall leue hym neuer a fote of lande, but I shall XnSmUnd
1 2 brynge all in to fyre and flame / and clene dystroy hym ; Esclararaond«»
and in the dyspyte of his teth I wyll se my nece
Esclaramond / and yf I may gete her I shall cause her
to be stryken all to peces, and brynne4 her in to asshes /
1 6 for my broder is deed by a vyllayne of Frauwce on6 whom
she was amorous/ whan Huon herde him 6speke of his whose rather fen
lady / his herte rose, and made promyse in hymself e / her French lover,
that or7 the moneth were past he wolde go & se her or8
20 fynde the maner9 to speake with her / then kyng
yuoryn called Mouflet the mynstrell, & sayd, ' frend, I
pray thee do some thyng to make me mery, for by King iroryn art*
Mouflet to make
reason of the dyspleasure that I haue had my ioye is him merry.
24 lost / therfore it were better for me to take some myrth
then to be long in sorow ' / ' syr,' quod Mouflet, ' I am
redy to do your pleasure ' / then he toke his vyall &
playde therof in suche wyse that it was grete melody
28 to here it / for all the paynyms that were there had The minstrel
plays on hie viol,
grete ioye & myrth, & made grete feest10 / when Huon
herde it he sayde, * good lord, I requyre the that this the music so
charms the
grete loy may turne to me, as to here some good newes Psynim hearers
32 of her whom I desyre11 sore to se.' when the mynstrell
had fynysshed his songe / the paynyms dyde of theyr
1 vnto. 2 much agreeued. 3 backe. 4 burne.
* vppon. 6 Fol. xliii. col. 2. 7 ere. 8 and.
• meanes how. 10 feasting. 11 so.
176
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. Hi.
that they give
Mouflet many
presents of
clothing.
Ivoryn uys that
Huon is too fkir
to scire a
minstrel.
Mouflet tolls
how he succoured
him.
Ivoryn warns
Mouflet that Huon
will rob him of
his property,
and kill him
when he is rich.
clothes / and some gaue hym ther gownes / and some
theyr mantelles / he thought hymselfe ryght wel happy
that coulde gyue the mynstrell ony thynge. Huon had
ynough to do to gather togyther the clothes that were 4
gyuen hym, and he put them in to his male / wher of
Huon was ioyf ull bycause he sholde haue the one half e.
Kynge yuoryn behelde Huon, & sayd to1 them that were
about hym / ' grete domage it is that so fayre a yonge 8
man sholde serue a mynstrel, / 'syr kyng/2 quod
Mouflet, ' be not abasshed though this yonge man do
serue me, he hathe cause so to do / for when youre
broder was dede I departed fro thews to come hy ther, 1 2
and by the way I founde a grete oke, vnder the whiche
I sate downe to rest me, and therby was a fayre3
fountayne / fayre and clere / there I spred abrode a
towel on the grene2 grasse / and set theron brede and 16
suche meate as I had, and drynke4 / and the same
tyme / this yonge man aryued & cam to1 me al naked /
& prayed me for the loue of Mahound to gyue hym
some of my brede, 5 and so I dyde, and clothed hym as 20
ye se / & I dyde so moche for hym that he promysed
to serue me and to bere my fardel and my harpe / and
more ouer, when I cam to ony passage of water he
wolde caste me in his necke as lyght as though I had 24
ben nothynge / he is so stronge, & bere me ouer ' / ' a,
poore caytife,' quod kyng yuoryn, ' hast thou lyued so
long & can not perceyue why he doth it ? / he abydeth
tyll6 thou haste goten some ryches, and then he wyll 28
cut thy throte and cast thee in7 the ryuer, and then go
away with all thy ryches / cause hym to come & speke
with me ' / * syr/ quod Mouflet, ' he shai come to you,'
and so 8 called Huon, and broughte hym to kynge 32
yuoryn. 'A, frende/ quod the kyng, 'I pray tJiee
shew me where thou were borne / for I haue pyte of the
1 vnto. 2 omitted, 8 greate. 4 as I had.
* Fol. xliii. back, col. 1. 6 vntill. T to. 8 he.
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Google
Ca. liii.] iiow ivory n marvels at huon.
177
to se the in so low estate as to be varlet to a mynstrell / The King c»n»
Huon and asks
it were better for the to serue some prynce / or helpe him why he is
to kepe a towne / or a castell, rather then thus to lese Jj^ngsomeana
4 thy tyme / 1 wote not what I shold thinke therin. But
that it semeth to be1 / for2 that thou arte of a faynte
corage. what hathe moued the thus to do 1 / thou seest
thy mayster hath nothynge but that he geteth with his
8 vyal ; canst thou fynde none other crafte3 to lyue by
more honestly 1 ' ' Syr/ quod Huon, * I can craftes
ynow / the whiche I shall name to4 you yf ye wyl here
me ' / * say on,' quod yuoryn, ' for I haue gret desyre
12 to know what thou cansto do / but of one thynge I
aduyse the: make no vaunt of ony thynge without thou.
canst do it in dede / for in euery thynge I wyll proue
thee.* 'Syr,' quod Huon, ' I can mew a sparhawke / Huon telle the
16 and I can chase theherte / & the wyld bore, and blowe
the pryce, and serue the houndes of theyr ryghtes, and
I can serue at the table before a grete prynce, and I can
playe at chesse and tables as well as ony other can do /
20 nor I neuer fouwde man coulde wynne of me yf I lyst.
% 6 How kynge Iuoryn caused his doughter
*play at the chesse with Huon, 7on the7
ccwdycyon that yf he were mated he shold
24 lese his heed, & yf she were mated / Huon
shold 8lye with her all nyght8 / and how
Huon wan the game. Cap. .liii.
Hen kyncj yuoryn herd Huon he sayd, i?«yn cannot
believe that Huon
'holde the to this, for I shall proue haeeomany
whether it be true that thou sayest or accomPll■h,nent■•
not* / 'yet, syr,9 I pray you let me
shew forther what I can do / & then
1 mee. a omitted.
8 Fol. xliii. back, col. 2.
8-8 haue her loue.
CHARL. ROM. VI.
4 vnto.
3 meanes.
8 to.
9 (quoth Huon).
7-7
vpon.
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Google
178
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. liii.
assaye me at youre pleasure.' 'By Mahouwde,' quod
the kynge, 'I am content 1thou shewest1 al that thou
canst do.' ' Syr/ quod Huon, ' I can ryght wel arme
me / & set the helme on my hede / & here a shelde & 4
epere / & rynne & galop a hors / & when it cometh to
the poynt 2ther as2 strokes shold be gyuen, ye may well
sende forth a worse thew I. Also, syr, I can ryght wel entre
in to ladyes chambres to embrace & to3 kys them, & to 8
do 4 the rest yf nede were'4 / 'frende,' quod yuoryn,
He will make ' by that5 I here by thee thou canst do mo thynges then
knowledge of shold torne to good / but to proue the I shall cause
HeahidipUy thee to be assayed at y* playe of the chesse. I haue a 12
Sinter. fa)rre doughter with whom I wyll thou shalt play, 6 on
if he win he y'8 cowdyeion that yf she wynne7 thou shalt lese thy
•hall lie with her,
end if he loee hede / & yf thou, canst mate her7 I promyse8 that thou
^ehaii eureiy Bna^ haue her 9 one nyght in thy bed / to do9 vritJi her 16
at thy pleasure, & a .C. marke of money there wM,'
'syr/ quod Huon, 'yf it were your pleasure I wolde
be glad to forbere that enterpryce ' / 4 by Mahound,'
quod ye kyng, ' it shall be none other wyse, com ther of 20
what wyll' / in ye mene seson that this bargerc was
The maiden u makynge / a paynym went in to y* ladyes chamber &
gammoned.
shewed her howe there was with the kynge her fader a
yonge man, &10 had made promyse how he shold play at 24
ye chesse with her, 6 on ye6 condycyon that yf he lese11 y*
game / 12 he shall13 lese his hede / & yf he14 wynne, then
16 to haue her all nyght in his bed to do his pleasure16 /
she leame how & a C. marke of money / 16 ' & dame,' 18 quod he, ' I ensure 28
#WI» UnAn im
you he that shall play agaynst you is the moost3 fay rest
man that euer I 8a we / pyte it is that he shold be
a verlet to a mynstrel as he is ' / ' by Mahouwde,' qwod
1-1 that thou shalt shew. *— a where. 3 omitted,
4— 4 them any seruioe. 6 which. 6— * vpon. r then.
8 thee. 9~9 to thy wife, to repose. 10 who. u lost
13 Fol. xliiii. col. 1. 13 should then. 14 chaunced to.
16—16 ije i0 naue you to hj8 wedded wife.
w-M But, Madam.
(air Hnon is.
Ca. liii.] op the game op chess. 179
y* lady, * I holde my father a fole when he thynketh
that I 8hold sufifre a maw to dye for wynnynge of
a game at chesse.' Then yuoryn sent for his dough ter
4 by .iL kynges, who brought her to y* kynge her father /
then yuoryn sayd, 4 Dough ter / thoxx must play at King ivoryn uiu
chesse with this yong varlet that thou seest here / so 0f the game!*1*0"
that yf thon wynne xhe shall lese his heed / & yf he
8 wynne1 1 wyll that he shall 2 lye with thee one nyght2
to do with thee at his pleasure.' 'Father/ quod ye
lady* * ay1*3 this is your pleasure, it is reason that I do it
whether I wyll or not ' / then she behelde Huon, whom «ndat tigh|of
12 8he saw 4ryght fay re, & sayd to her selfe, 4 By himmtdiy.
Mahounde, for the grete beaute that I se in this yonge
man, I wolde this game were at an ende, so that I were
6 a bed with hym all nyght.'6
16 G51ifeWfc>^en ^e WaS COme Pla068 Huon and the
were made redy / then she & Huon ^ 1,1 down t0
sate downe, & the6 kynge yuoryn & all
the7 barons sat downe aboute them to
20 ^^^^8^ se them play / then Huon sayd to the
kynge / 4 sir, I requyre you / that you nor none other
do speke in our game / nother for ye one party nor for
y* other ' / 4 frende,' quod the kynge / 4 haue no doute
24 therof ' / & for more suerte the kynge caused to be silence i*
cryed8 thorow9 all y* palays that none sholde be so ejector*? th°
hardy10 to speke one worde on11 payn of deth / then ye
chesse were made redy ; then12 Huon sayd, 'lady, what
28 game wyl ye play at ? ' 4 frende,' qnod she, 4 at ye game
accustomed, that is, to be mated in ye corner ' / then
they both began to study for y* fyrst draught / ther
were paynyms that beheld Huon / but he cared not for
32 ony of them / but studyed on his game, ye whiche they
had begon, so that Huon had lost parte 13 of his pawnes, ^^Blo#a' iome
1 then. *-* be thy husband. 8 seeing. 4 to be.
*— 6 his wedded wife. 6 omitted. 7 his. 8 proclaymed.
8 out 10 as. 11 vpon. 12 and. 13 Fol. xliiii. col. 2.
N 2
Digitized by
180
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. liii.
wher with he chau/iged coloure & blusshed as rede as
a rose / the damsell perceyued him, & sayd, ' frende,
wheron do ye thynke ye are nye1 mated / anone my
fader wyl stryke of your hede ' / ' dame/2 quod he, * as 4
yet ye game is not done / grete shame shall your father
haue, when ye shall lye all nyghte in myn armee, & I
beyng but a varlet 3 to a pore mynstrell ' / when the
barons herde Huon say so they began all to laugh. 8
The maiden And the lady who was4 8urprysed with the loue of
neglect* the game .
tor lore of Huon, Huon for5 ye grete beaute that she sawe in hym, so0
m that she nye forgate all her play to thynke of Huon,7
and 1* at length 8so that8 she lost y* game / wherof Huon was 9ioyfull / 12
check mated.
& called ye king, & sayd, ' sir, now may ye se how I can
play / for10 yf I wyll11 a lytell more study 12 / 1 wolde18
mate your doughter where as I lyst / when the kyng
iroryn la angry sawe that he sayd to his doughter / 'a ryse, cursed be 16
daughter. ye houre that euer6 I gate the / for grete dyshonour
thou hast14 done to me, 15 when so many grete men
thou hast mated,15 & now I se here before me16 that
a mynstrelles varlet hathe mated the ' / * sir,' quod 20
Huon reieaee. her Huon, ' trouble not your self f or that cause / as for the
hehadbmIdTer wager that I sholde wyn therby, I am content to
with the King. reieee ft qUyte ; let youre doughter go in to her chambre
& sporte her with her damselles at her pleasure, & 24
I shall go & serue my mayster ye mynstrel.' * frende,'
quod the kyng, ' yf thou wylt shewe me this curteyse,
I shall gyue the a .C. marke in money ' / ' str,' quod
Huon, ' I am content with youre pleasure ' / & ye lady 28
The maiden went her way sorowf till, & sayd to her selfe / ' a, false
aeff^uie'of faynted hert, Mahounde confouwde the / f or yf I had
iE<m.T0ft>r knowe that thou woldest thus a17 refused my company
1 almost. 2 Madame. * seruant 4 so.
* in regard of. 6 omitted. 7 him. a-8 wherby.
8 right. 10 but. u would.
12 Btudie but before a lytell more. 13 could. 14 now.
1&-16 tnftt heretofore hast mated so many great men.
16 my face. 17 haue.
Digitized by
Ca. liv.] HOW HUON PREPARES FOR BATTLE. 181
I wold haue mated the / & then thou haddest lost thy
hed ' / thus y* mater passyd tyl y* next daye / thaw kyng
yuorin made xa crye1 thorow2 all the cyte that euery ivory n order* ins
army to prepare
4 man shoide be armed & mounted on theyr horses, & for battle.
that it was his mynd to set forward toward his enemyes.
then euery man armed them & mounted on 3 theyr
horses; many helmes gletred agaynst the sonne / &
8 many trompettes & taboures began to sowne / suche
brute was made in the cyte that it was meruayle to
here it.
% How that4 Huon was aryued6 & mounted
12 on a poore horse, and went after the army
to anferlerne. Ca. liiii.
Hen Huon sawe howe he had not wher-
with to arme him his hert mourned
ryght sore / for gladly he wolde a6 gone
forth with other yf he myght haue7
ony hors to ryde8 on / 9 he came to kyng Huon beg* for a
yuoryn, & sayd, ' syr, I requyre you let me haue a hors armour in order
20 & harnes 10 / that I may go with you to ye batayle / & battle,
then shall ye se how I can ayde you ' / ' frende,' quod
yuorin, ' I am content11 ye come12 with rae' / then the
kyng coramaunded one of his chawberlaynes to delyuer
24 him13 hors & harneys,10 & ye chamberlayn sayd / ' sir, The Kind's
. in chamberlain
beware what ye do / for often tymes suche fleynge doubts Huon, and
vacabondes are of 18 lyght corage / yf he haue13 hors & thTtrattoT* P'My
harneys 10 / he may as sone go to your enemyes parte as
28 to kepe with you / s/r,14 neuer trust me but he is some
counterfeyt varlet' / when the kynge herde him15 / he
sayd, ' it may well be / yet let him haue a good harnes10
1-1 proclamation. 2 out. 3 Fol. xliiii. back, col. 1.
4 omitted. 6 armyd. 6 haue. 7 had.
8 hauf ridden. 9 wherefore. 10 armour. 11 that.
12 goe. 13 a. 14 and. 15 say so.
Digitized by
182
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. liv.
Ivoryn order*
that a poor hone
be given him.
A paynim offers
Huon a rusty old
sword,
which the
knight finds to
have come from
the same forge
as Roland's
sword.
Hoon thanks the
paynim for the
sword.
He ia given a
lean an
horse,
and tlie paynims
mock at him
when lie
mounts it.
& helmo / & shelde / & let his hors be but of a small
valew, to the entent1 he shall not go ferre of though he
wold ' / the same tyme there was a paynym that herde
the kyng graunt how Huon shold haue harneys2 / he 4
went to his howse & toke out of his cofer an olde
rusty swerde, & brought it to Huon / & sayd, ' frend, I
se wei ye haue no swerde to ayde yourself with all, &
therfore I gyue you this swerde, the whiche I haue 8
long kept in my cofer ' / ye paynym dyd gyue it to
Huon in a mockery / for he thought y* swerde but of
a small valew. Huon toke y- swerde & drew it out of
ye sheth, & saw letters wrytten theron in frewche / 12
seyng 3 how the* swerd was forged by galans, who in bis
daies forged .iii. swerd es / & the1 same swerd was one of
the thre / 4one was4 durandell, 5 the which Eowlande
had5 / 6the .ii. was6 courtayn / when Huon had rede ye 16
letters he was ryght ioyful, & sayd to ye paynim /
t frende, for this good swerde that ye haue gyuen me I
thanke you / & I promys you yf I may lyue longe
I shall rewarde you with the double valewe therof. 20
after1 Huon hadde this swerde there was brought7 him a
good harneis2 / helme / sheld, & spere with a rusty hed.
Huon cared lytell for it by reason of ye gret desyre that
he had to come to the place where as he myght she we 24
his strength & vertue / then ther was brought to him a
lene hors, pylled with a long necke & a grete bede /
when Huon saw that hors he toke hi?n by ye brydell &
lept vpon him without ony fote in ye styrop, in the 28
syght of a .M. paynyms that were there present / &
some said it was not wel done to geue him a hors
the which coude not serue nor ayde him in tyme of
nede / when Huon was mounted on his lene feble horse / 32
he was sorowfull / for well he perceyued how they
1 that. * armour. * Vol xliiii. back, ool. 2.
4-4 and the second was called. 6-6 omitted.
•~° and the third. 7 vnto.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. liv.] op kino ivoryn's victory. 183
mocked him, & sayd softly to himself e / ' a, ye fals
paynyms, yf I may lyue a yere / I shall quyte your
mockes 9 / then Huon rode forth with other / but for all
4 that he coude do with his spurres, the hors wolde
go / but his owne softe pace / wherof 1 dyuers paynyms
mocked him. thus kyng yuoryn departed fro Mombrant
with his grete army, & taryed in ye feldes for his men /
8 & when they were all assembled togyder, then he ivoryn leads i.u
departed & toke ye way to Anfalerne / the which was2 AnfiLrne,
of / but .iiii. leggea of 3 / & whan they came there they and captures aii
ran before the cyte & draue away al the bestes, the city.
1 2 beofes and motons, & sent thern to mombrant / the??
when ye admyral galaffer saw kyng yuoryn before his
cyte, & had dryuen away all the praye aboute tbe
towne / he was so sorowfull that he was nere hande out
16 of his wyt / & then he saw 4 the fayre Esclaramonde
before him, & sayd / ' dame,5 the grete loue that I haue
set on you is this day derely bought / for by your The Admiral i* in
f . , . , 0 iP fear for himself
occacion I se my countre destroyed & my men slayne & and country,
20 led in smivtude ' / ' sir,' quod she, ' I am sory therof /
J . ' Esclanimonde she
it lyeth in you to amende it / syn6 this yll is come to ha* caused i»u
... * misery.
you by me / then it is in you to render me to kyng she uks to be
. surrendered to
yuoryn / & therby ye & your countre shall be m rest & King ivoryn,
24 peace' / 'fayre lady,' quod Galaffer / 'by ye grace of
Mahound / for ony fere that I haue of yuoryn your
vncle I wyll not render you in to his handes tyll7 I haue *»t tn« Admiral
J J J refuses to follow
had of you my pleasir ' / ' air,1 quod she, ' ye may do her advice.
28 with me as it shall please you after that the .ii. yeres
be past for ye accomplysshyng of myn auow.' * dame/6
quod Galaffer / ' 8 or I8 render you to your vncle yuoryn
I shall haue neuer a foote of lande,9 fyrst it shall be
32 clene dystroyod.'
1 wherat 2 distant. 3 omitted, 4 Fol. xlv. col. 1.
6 Madame. 6 seeing. 7 vntill. 8-8 before I will.
9 for.
Digitized by
184
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lv.
% Howe Huon fought with Sorbryn & slewe
hym, & wan the good horse Blawchardyn,
whero# he mounted, & wan the batayle /
& was brought with grete tryuwphe to 4
Mombrant. Cap. .lv.
Sorbryn, tbt
Admiral's
nephew, oflera to
challenge the
boldest of
Ivoryn'e soldiers,
on the condition
that If he U
conquered,
Esclaramonde
shall be restorod,
and if he is
rictortoas,
Iroryu shall
return after
pajing twice the
ralue of the
damage he has
already done.
Sorbryn arms
himself,
and his good
horse Blanchardin
is brought him.
He;* Sorbryn, nephew to y* admyrall
Galaffer, herde his vncle make suche
sorow, he sayd to him / ' fayre vncle, 8
be not dysmayed, though yuoryn hath
take?* & slayne some of your men, &
dryuew away your beste*. for eche1 of yours, yf I
lyue, I shall render agayn to you .iiii. I shal tell you 12
how I shal2 go & arme me, & yssu out & shew to
yuoryn that* he2 set one or .ii. of ye moost4 hardy est 6 of
all his hoost to fyght wit/* me / &6 yf it be so that I be
ouercome / thew7 rejulre his8 nece Esclaramowd to him 16
to do witft her at his pleasir ; & yf that I dyscomfyte
his men / then let him departe, so that9 all ye damage
that he hath10 to you in this warre he to11 render agayne
to you ye double therof / for better it were that this 20
warre shold ende by .ii 12 men rather then so moche
people shold be dystroyed ' / * fayre nephew/ quod
Galaffer, * I herde neuer a better worde / I am well
content yf ye wyll haue it thus ' / then Sorbryn went 24
& armed him13 / he was a goodly knyght / for in all y*
paynyms landes there was not his pere, nor none tliat a
proched nere to his valyaurctnes / when he was armed,
then bla/tchardin, his good hors, was brought to him / 28
ye bounte14 of this hors exceded al other, & of beaute
ther was none lyke him / he was as whyte as snow / y*
fresshenes of his aparyll, it was so ryche & goodly that
one.
will.
you to
faire.
12 Fol. xlv. col. 2.
4 omit fed. 6 men. 6 thai.
0 for. 10 done. 11 will.
13 himself. 14 goodness.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lv.] OP THE CHALLENGE OF SORBRYN. 185
I can not make no1 mencyon therof; but2 no mm
coude esteme the valew of y® ryches of y* brydel, sadel
& haineis / then sorbrin lept vpon his hors with out
4 oni styrop / 3 then he3 toke a grete spere, & so rode out He ride* to Kin«
J r 1 ° r Ivoryn and telU
of y* cyte / & when he saw kyng yuoryn a ferre of, he him bis purpose,
cryed a loude & said / ' a, thoxx yuorin of mombrant, ye
admirall Galaffer hath sent me to the, & wyl that tlwu
8 do arme on of 4ye most4 valyauntest men of thy court,
& let him come agaynst me / & yf he can vanquysshe
me / then he shal delyuer to thee thy nece Esclaramond /
&6 yf I ouercome thy man, then thou, to returne to thy
12 cite & suffer thy nece6 styll with him / & also thou to
restore all ye domages that thou hast done7 him & his in
this warre ' / when yuoryn herd the paynym / he loked
aboute him to se yf ony of his men wold take on him None of ivoryn's
men will aocept
16 this enterpryce to fyghte with Sorbryn / but there was sorbryn's
no paynym that durste speke one worde / for they fered challenge*
Sorbryn for y* fyerenes that was in him / & they said
amonge them selfe that who so euer dyd fyght agaynst
20 him were lyke myserably to fynysshe his days / y* same
tyme that yuorin spake with Sorbryn / Huon was amonge
y* other paynyms, & herd what sorbryn had sayd / Huon hears
& also he «awe8 no man durst go agaynst Sorbryn / 8o/bryn * word*
24 then as wel as he myght he gate himselfe out of the prese
vpon his lene horse. 3 he 8 strake him with his sporres / and rides forward
on his poor steed.
but for all that he coude do the horse wold nother trot nor
galop / but go styll his owne pase. ye 9olde mynstrell
28 beheld Huon his varlet, who made hym redy to fight
agaynst the paynym / and saw that he was so yll
horsed, he 10escryed a10 hye, & sayd / 'syr kynge Ti.e minstreu
yuoryn / it shal be to11 you grete velany 12 when suche a itoryTwUh the
32 horse that is no thynge worth ye haue delyuerd to11 my ee^anrsh^rsej"
varlet / who goeth for your sake to fyght with Sorbryn, ^ghfa^rTst1
Sorbryn.
1 due. 2 for. »-* and. thy. 6 but.
• to remaine. 7 to. 8 that. 0 Fol. xlv. back, col. 1.
10-10 cryeti on# li vuto. 12 dishonour.
Digitized by
186
HUON OF BUR DEUX.
[Ca. Iv.
Huon tells
Sorbryn that he
is a Christian.
Sorbryn counsels
him not to accept
the challenge.
Huon, however,
will not change
his purpose,
and prepares for
the duel.
His horse will
hardly bear him,
and Sorbryn
rushes at him.
striking a heavy
blow.
But Huon
withstands its
force,
with whom none of your1 men dare fyghte / grete synne
it is that he hath not a better horse ' / then Huon sayd
to2 Sorbryn, * Sarazyn, I pray the speke with me'/
' Frende/ quod Sorbryn, * what wylte thou with me % 9 / 4
'paynyni/ quod Huon, 4 1 requyre thee3 proue thy
vertue agaynst me.' ' Then/ qwod Sorbryn, 1 tell me,
art thou a paynyme or a sarazyn ? ' * Frende/ quod
Huon, * I am nother paynym nor sarazyn / but I am 8
crystened / byleuynge in the lawe of Jesu cryste / &
thoughe thou seest me but poorely apparelled / dyspyse
me not / for I am com of a noble extraccyon / wherfore
I requyre the on thy lawe that thou beleuest on, lette 12
me not go without batayle.' 1 Frende/ quod Sorbryn,
' in this request thou doest gret foly / for thou desyrest
thy deth. I haue pyte of the / and therfore I counsell
the to returne backed 'Paynym/ quod Huon, 'I had 16
rather dye then to returne or4 I haue iusted with thee.'
then they went eche fro other to take theyr course, but
for all that euer Huon coude do, his horse wolde not
auaunce forth / wherof Huon was sore dyspleased, and 20
sayd, 'A, very god and man / I desyre the to gyue
me y* grace that I myght wyune this horse that this
paynyme doth ryde on.'6 When Huon saw that his
horse wolde nother6 forwarde nor backe warde / he set 24
his shelde agaynst his enemy / and Sorbryn came ryn-
nynge lyke the tempest, and with his spere strake in
Huons shelde such a stroke that the buckles nor ony
thynge elles coude resyste the stroke / but the shelde 28
was perced through out / but the good harneys7 saued
Huon fro 8 all hurtes, and he remoued no more for the
stroke then9 it had ben a strong walle / wherof yuorin
and all other had grete meruayle, & said one to another / 32
how they had neuer sene before so grete a stroke nor a
goodlyer reseyt therof without fallynge to the erthe.
1 other,
go.
2 vnto.
3 to.
vppon.
T armour. 8 Fol. xlv. back, col. 2. • if.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lv.] now huon slays sorbryn. 187
euery man praysed gretely Huon that he helde hym
selfe so fermely. ' By Mahouwde,* quod yuoryn, ' our
man is fyers and of gret hardynes. I wolde he were
4 mounted nowe on1 my hors.' And Huon, who had
receyued the grete stroke, in grete yre cast downe his
spere and toke his swerde with bothe his handes, & and taking his
own sword in
gaue tner with the paynym a grete stroke as he passed both his hand*,
8 by hym a hye on1 his helme / the stroke was so pusante
that nother the helme nor coyffe of stele coude not2
resyst the stroke / but that his heed was clouen to the cleave* sorbryu'*
sholdres, and so he fell downe deed in ye felde / then shoulder*.
12 Huon, who was quycke and lyght / toke the good horse Huon seizes his
adversary's good
Blanchardyn by the reyne & alyghted fro his owne hone
horse, without fete in the styrop lept vp2 vpon the BUnchardyn*
paynyms horse, & lefte his owne in the felde. and
16 when he sawe hym self on Blanchardyn / he 3dasshed
to him3 his sporres to proue hym / when the horse felte
the sporres / he began to lepe & gambaud & galop as it
had ben the thonder / 4 the paynyms had meruayle that
20 he had not fallen to the erthe / 5 when he had well
proued him and turned hym in and out / he thought he
wolde not gyue hym for the valewe of a realme. then
he cam to6 kyng yuoryn with .xx. gambaudes. 'By
24 mahourade,' quod yuoryn, * this varlet semeth rather
sone to a kyng or prynce then to be a varlet to a myn-
strelT / then he came to6 Huon and enbraced hym / & Ivoryn receives
. . » . Huon well ami
made hym grete feest7 / and the paynyms that were makes for him a
28 within Anferlerne with the admyrall Galaffer yssued out gwat feaBt*
of the cyte / and whan Galaffer saw his nephew slayn,
he rode about hym thre tymes and made a pyteous com-
8playnt, and sayde, ' A, ryght dere nephew, I may well The Admiral
32 complayne9 your youth / when I se you this10 pyteously death™ hu
slayne / certaynely yf I lyue longe your deth shall nephew*
1 vpon. 3 omitted. 3-3 eraoat him with. 4 and.
6 80. 6 vnto. 7 reapecte. 8 Fol. xlvi. col. 1.
9~* by reason of. 10 thus.
Digitized by
188
HUON OF BUKDEUX.
[Ca. lv.
and lead* his men
on tu battle.
Huon fight* with
vigour, and doe*
much havoc.
Through his
prowes* the
Admiral is
thoroughly
worsted.
Huon gives a
horse to the
paynim who had
bestowed the
sword upon him.
Ivoryn drives the
Admiral within
his city, and
depart*.
derely be bought' / xhe caused the deed body to be
caryed in to the cyte with grete lamentacyons / 2 then
he & his men entred in to the batayle. there8 was
grete slaughter made on both partes ; but amonge all 4
other Huon dyd meruayles / he slewe and bette downe
& tare of helmes & strake out braynes with the pomell
of his swerd / he slewe and bette downe all that came
within his stroke / his hye4 prowes was suche that no 8
paynym durst abyde hi?n, but fled as the shepe doth
fro the wolues / he dyd so moche by vertue of his
armes that within shorte space he brought all the5
enemys to playne dyscomfyture / so that the admyrall 12
Galaffer wM moche payne fled and entred in to the
cyte, ryght sorowfuli for y6 losse that he had receyued
that day / for the thyrde parte of his men were slayne
in the batayl, and all by the valyauntnes of Huou, the 16
whiche was so grete that kyng yuoryn and his barons
stode styll to beholde his valyaunt dedos / and as Huon
foughte he spyed out the paynym that had gyuen him
his swerde / then he remembred the promys that he 20
had made hym / then2 he lyft vp his swerd & strake a6
paynym ther with so that he claue his heed / to the
brest & so7 fel downe dede / and Huon toke the
paynyrns horse & gaue the horse to hym that had 2-1
gyuen hym the good swerde / and sayd, ' frende, take
it8 in worth the gyfte of this horse for a rewarde for
the good swerde ye gaue me ' / ' syr/ quod the paynym,
• I thanke you ' / f ynally,9 Huon dyd so moche that 28
there was no paynym that dur«st abyde him / but fled
and entred into the cyte of Anfalerne. thew they
closed their gates & lyfte vp theyr brydges / and kynge
yuoryns men departed with the boty 10 they had wonne. 32
then with gret tryumphe Huon 11 was conuayed rydyngc
1 no. * and. 3 where. 4 omitted. 6 his.
6 nother. 7 hce. 8 well. 0 In breefe. 10 that.
11 Fol. xlvi. col. 2. .
Digitized by
Ca. Ivi.] HOW IVORYN HONOURS HUON. 189
cheke by cheke by kynge yuoryn, and so brought to Hmm is treated
Mombrant, where as they were receyued with gret ioy. honour,
and the admyral Galaffer was entred in to Anferlerne in in deep sorrow
# . _s 10 the Admiral
4 grete sorow for Sorbryn his nephew, who was deed, & buries his
also for his men that he hadde lost in batayle / and nepaew*
when he was vnarmed he caused his nephew to be
buryed with sore wepynges and lamentacyons. Now
8 let vs leue spekynge of them 1 tyll we returne therto
agayne.1
% How Huon was set2 in grete honoure, and
satte at the table with kynge yuoryn of
12 Mombrant. Capitulo .Ivi.
Hen yuoryn was entred into Mombrant
he wente and vnarmed hym8 / his
doughter came to4 hym to make him
feest 6 / and when he sawe his doughter /
he kyssyd her and sayd, 4 Dere iroiyn teiu his
daughter of
doughter / thou wert mated in a good houre by the Huon's valorous
mynstralles varlet / for at6 ye day of batayle that
20 we haue had agaynst the admyrall Galafer, who7 was
dyscomfyted by the only prowes of this varlet by whom
thou were mated ; thankyd be my god Mahound / for by
him I haue ouercome myn enymyes / & be syde that, he
24 fought hande to hande agaynst sorbryn, nephew to the
Admyrall Galaffer / & he slewe hym / but yf I maye
lyue one yere, the grete seruyce that he hathe done to4
me shall be euen ryght well rewarded ' / ' father/ quod
28 the lady, * ye are bounde so to do ' / then kynge yuroryn
went vp in to his palayes, and his doughter -with him,
& Huon / went to y* lodyng where as ye mynstrell
was lodged / then8 he vnarmed him and went with his
1—1 vntill wee haue occasion to returne vnto them againe.
3 hadde. 3 and. 4 vnto. 6 reuerence.
6 in. 7 he. 8 where.
Digitized by
190
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Co. lvi.
maister *to the palayes / 2 when kynge yuoryn sawe
iroryn invites them, the kyng auaunsed forth and toke Huon by the
Huoti to sit at 9
his table with hande, & sayd / ' frende, ye shall go with me and syt at
my table / for I can not do you to moche honoure for 4
y* good seruyce that ye haue done3 me. I habandon
and offers him all to3 you all my house to do therin at your pleasure / take
his valuables, " '
all my golde and syluer & iewelles, & gyue therof at
and anything your pleasure / I ordeyn & wyll that all that ye 8
may desire. commauwde shal be done ; all that is here I habandon
me.' 'syr/ quod Huon, 'of the grete honour that ye 12
haue done to me I thanke you ' / then they sat downe
Alter dinner at the table / & when they had denyd, the kynge and
Huon satte togyder on4 the ryche carpettes / then
Mouflet plays Mouflet the mynstreli apoynted6 his vyall, and played 16
music before the
King. so melodyously that the paynyms that herde him had
grete meruayle therof / for the vyall made so swete a
swonde / that it semed to be the mermaydes of the
see / kynge yuoryn & all his lordes had so gret ioye 20
that it semed to3 them that they were in the glory
of paradyce, so that there was no paynyme but that
gaue hym gownes & mantelles & other iewelles. the
The minstrel still mynstreli saw Huon syt by the kyng, &6 sayd / ' frende, 24
addresses Huon »
as his servant, yesterday I was your mayster, & now I am7 your
to the amusement
of the court. mynstreli / I thynke now ye haue lytell care for me /
yet I praye you come to3 me & gather togyder these
clothes, & put them in my male as ye haue done or8 28
this' / when the kynge and his lordes herd that they
began to laughe. Now let us leue spekynge of them /
& speke9 of ye olde Gerames.
1 Fol. xlvi. back, col. 1. * but 3 vnto. 4 vppon.
6 opened. 6 hee. T become. • ere.
9 say somewhat
to3 you / ye, in y* ladys chambres take there your
pleasure as ye lyste / & when I go out ye shall go with
Ca. lvii.]
OF QKRAME8' ADVENTURES.
191
«[ How the olde Gerames aryued at Anfa-
lerne by fortune, and the admyrall Galaffer
retayned hym to mayntayn his warre / and
how the fayre Esclaramowde spake with
lhym. Cap. .lvii.
E haue herd here before ye aduentures
that hath fallen to Huon, & how ye
olde Gerames & .xiii. with him departed
& lefte Huon by cause he wolde not
byleue them, wherby fell to hym suche
aduentures as ye haue2 herde, & how Gerames & his Gerames and his
i c\ » • ill ti#i« companions in
12 companyons that were in ye lytel shyp sayled forth in their utile boat
the tempest without3 knowlege what was become of port of Anfaierne.
Huon / but they thought rather he had ben deed then
alyue / and so within a moneth* they were dryuen
16 by another tempest to the porte of Anfaierne / when
Gerames sawe how they were aryued there, he sayd to
his company / ' syrs, we be not aryued at a good porte /
in this cyte dwelleth a paynym kynge who byleueth
20 5nother in god nor in good saynt5 / a more fyere
paynyme can not be founde fro hens to the rede see ;
he is called the admyrall Galaffer; without god haue Gerames fear*
pyte of vs I can not se but we are lyke to dye / & we wm om thmfin!
24 can not returne back ' / ye same tyme the admyrall
Galaffer was rysen fro dyner, & loked out at a wyndow
& behelde the see syde / & than he perceyued the
lytell shyp where Gerames & his company were in /
28 when he saw it he went downe w/tA som of his men, The Admiral
desyTynge to knowe what they were that ther ariued / his palace,
then he aproched to ye shyp & said / ' syrs, what men ™* knighSf
be you that are thus aryued at my porte V / 'sir/ qi*>d X^ZX^.
32 Gerames, ' we be frenchmen, pylgrymes, & are goyng to Gerames teiis
their misforiane.
offre at ye holy sepulcre, for6 fortune of ye se hath
1 Fol. xlvi. back, col. 2. * since. 8 any. 4 after.
*-* not in our god. 6 the.
Digitized by
Google
192
HUON OP BUHDEUX.
[Ca. lvii.
The Admiral
reoeires them
kindly,
npenks to them of
King Ivoryn's
hostility.
Gerames promises
to fight for him
if hit cause be
The Admiral
tells him of
EtrUramonde's
arrival there,
and how King
Ivoryn seeks her
life,
and how he
himself has
wedded her,
brought vs hydcr / & therfore, syr, yf there be ony
trybute that we ought to paye, we are redy to do your
pleasir ' / 1 syrs,' quod ye admyrall, ' haue no dout
that by me or ony of min ye shal haue oni displeasnr / 4
for yf ye wyll abyde with me ye are wel aryued ' /
' air,1 quod Gerames, 1 * yf it may1 please you,2 thew vs
the cause why* / ' sir,' 3 quod the admyrall,4 'I shall she we
you / trewe it is here nere me dwelleth kyng yuoryn of 8
Mombrant, 6 who maketh6 me grete warre ; he sleeth my
men & dystroyeth my countre, wherof I haue grete
sorowe in my hert ' / 4 sir,' quod Gerames, ' yf your
quarell be iust & ryghtfull we shall be all redy to ayde 12
you truly / for, air, without your quarell be good
we wyll not abyde with you.' 'syrs/ quod the
admyrall, ' I shall shewe you the trouth / so it was on6
a day I stode in a wyndowo & loked downe to ye see 16
syde, as I dyd now when ye aryued at this porte /
& then I saw a shyp comynge & toke ancre there as ye
be now / & in the shyp there was a dawsell & x
maryners / who thought to haue ledde her to7 kyng 20
yuoryn of Mombrant; I can not tel where they had.
taken her / &8 she was doughter to the admyral
Gaudys / that Mahound take his soule / 9 1 know9 for
certen that yf kyng yuoryn myght haue the damsell / 24
he wolde a10 brent11 her / by cause it hath ben shewed
him that she was the cause of the deth of her father y*
Admyral Gaudys / who was broder to yuoryn / & so
he is vncle to the damsell / and when I was aduertysed 28
that the .x. maryners wolde haue delyuered her in to
the handes of her vncle yuoryn / I toke her fro them &
slew them all by cause they wold not delyuer her 12 with
fayrnes /12 & thus I haue wedded the damsel / &13 32
*-* I would it might. 1 to. 8 Why.
Fol. xlvii. col. 1. 6 vppon. 7 vnto.
and I knewe. 10 haue. 11 burnt
it-it to me with entreatie. 1S omitted.
« that
8 but
Digitized by
Google
Ca. IviL] HOW GERAMES BECOMES THE ADMIRAL'S CHAMPION. 193
whew yuoryn herd this he made mo warre / & was here
before my cite witA al his pusance, & hath slayn my
men / & led awaye all my bestes & prouysyon, & hath
4 brent1 & dystroyed my couwtre / & euery day he cometh
& ouer ryn all y* couwtre, & he hath with him a yong
man / I know not of what couwtre he is of / &2 this and how sorbryn
has been slain
last day he slew a nephew of myn whom I ryght derely by iroryn's
objunpion.
8 loued,3 who was called Sorbrin / he was sone to my
sister / for whom I haue suche sorow at my hert that
it can not be apeased / & he hath led away his horse
called Blanchardyn, the whiche is the best horse in x
12 realmes / his lyke is not in al y* world; wherfore
I de8yre you, as I maye deserue your seruyse, to abyde
"with me / & to do so moch Athat I myght haue y* sayd
yong man taken prisoner & the hors agayn to me
16 restored / & yf ye can this do I shall so rewarde you
that y* shall alwayes be ryche, & all tho6 in your
company' / 'sir,' quod Gerames / 'yf he come ony Gerames offers to
more hyder, & that ye shew me him / I shall do my in hu war with
20 payn6 to bryng him & ye hors also to7 you ' / ' frende,' tte King*
quod the admyrall, * yf ye wyl shew me this curteyse I
shal habandow all my realme to be at your pleasure &
commaundement ' / with these wordes the olde Gerames
24 yasued out of y* shyp & all his company / & entred in Qeramea and u«
company enter
to y* cyte of Anfalerne with the admyral Galaffer3 / the city,
when they came to the palayes Gerames sayd / ' sir, I <fer»me« ask* to
see Eeclaramonde.
& my company requyre you to shew vs the damsell for
28 whose sake ye maynten this warre.' ' frende/ quod the
admyrall, * yf ye were a yonge man I wolde not shewe
her to7 you / but I se wel ye be old & auncyent /
wherfore no yonge lady wyl set ony thyng by you ' /
32 then y* admyral toke Grerames by ye hande & led him
in to the chambre where as Esclaramonde was / as sone The dameei
. recognizes the
as the lady saw Gerames she knew him, wherwttn she old man,
1 burnt. 1 but. 8 and. 4 Fol. xlvii. col. 2.
& those. • best. 7 vnto.
CHARL. ROM. VI. O
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Google
194
huck: op burdeux.
[Ca. lvii.
and crlei aloud.
The Admiral
inquires in vain
why Esclara-
monde is affected
at the sight of
him,
but he leaves the
two together.
Eselaramonde
asks how
Oerames oame to
Anfiderne.
Oerames tells her,
and inquires for
Huon.
began to chaunge coloure, & fel downe in a sowne in the
chambre, makynge a grete crye1 / when y* admyral
Galaffer saw that he was ryght sorowful, & sayd /
* fayre lady, why do ye make thts sorow? are ye troubled 4
for2 y* syght of this olde man that I haue brought
hyder?' / 'nay, surely, sir/ quod she / 'it is for a
colyke that, hath taken me in the ryght syde, wher by
I haue often tymes grete payn3 / but, syr, yf it were 8
your pleasir I wolde gladly speke with this frenche
knyght / for customably they know many thynges / &
perauenture he may shew me such thinges as shalbe for
my helth / for frewchemen are ryght subtyl4 in gyuyng 12
of good counsell ' / ' dame/5 quod ye admiral, ' it pleaseth
me well that ye speke with Yam secretly* / then j*
lady called Gerames, & sayd / ' frende, I pray thee gyue
me some good counsel that I may be eased of the payne 16
that I endure* / 'dame/6 quod Gerames / 'for the
honoure of you & of the 6admyrall that is here present,
I shall ayde you in suche wyse that ye shall be eased
of the payne that ye endure ' / then Gerames, who was 20
subtyl, wel perceyued the mynde of the lady / then he
aproched nere to7 her &8 sat downe togyder on a couche
therby / ' Gerames/ quod the lady, ' I praye you what
aduenture hath brought you hyther?' / 'dame/6 quod 24
he, ' we be come hyther by reason of tempest of the
see / but, dame/9 quod he, ' I pray you what is become
of Huon 1 ' / ' by my fayth/ quod she, ' I byleue he is
deed / for when ye departed fro vs, such a meruaylous 28
tempest rose on the see that all that were in our shyp
were perysshed, & the shyp drowned & broken in small
peces, excepte Huon & I / we saued vs on a table
of wode, wherupon we aryued in an yle that was nere 32
vs / & when we were on the lande, there cam to7 vs
1 outcrie. 2 at. s annoyance.
* Madame. 6 Fol. xlvii. back, col. 1,
a *i o t _ j:_
they.
• Ladie.
4 ^discreet
T vnto.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lvii] OP THE LOVE THAT ESCLARAMONDE BEARS HUON.
195
.x. maryners, & toke me fro thens, & left Huon there Eeciaramonde
blyndfelde, & 1 handes & fete faste bounde, so that he ulvw Mm'dead,
had no power to releue himself e ; & these .x. maryners
4 brought me hyder, & the admyral Galaffer hath slayn
them all / therfore I thynke surely that Huon is
deed ; Iesu haue mercy on his 2soule2 / and thus I am
here with this admyrall, who hath assured me to wedde
8 me / but as yet he neuer medled with me bodely / but
I haue made him to byleue that I made a vowe to
Mahounde, for .iL yere to come3 no man shold haue
parte4 of my body, & that is for the loue of Huon,
12 whom I can not forgette. the admyral hath beleued but that she wtii
me/ 5 for as long as I lyue I shal neuer forgete Huon, & to him.
shal alwayes,6 to dye in ye payne,7 kepe me fro the
bodely company of ony man lyunge / a, syr Gerames !
16 yf ye myght do so moche that I might scape fro heus
with you / ye shold do me a grete curteyse / for yf I
myghte scape fro hens, & come in to a crysten realme, I she desire* to
wolde yelde my selfe in to some abbey of nonnes, to ye
20 entent that the resydew of my lyfe I myght pray for the
soule of my louer 8 Huon ' / 1 dame/9 quod Gerames, ' be
not dysmayed, for yf I can scape fro hens, what so euer
come10 ther of, I shall cary you with me * / then the
24 admyral came to11 them & sayd / ' frende, ye hold ouer The Admiral caiu
longe talkyng wtt/i the damsell / come a way ! ye haue do^wT6" *
taryed there longe ynow ' / then Gerames departed fro E»Saraondel
Esclaramonde, straynynge her by the hande / & the
28 admyrall Galaner toke Gerames by y* arme / & brought The Admiral
him in to y* hal to supper / & after supper they at dinner,
comoned of the feates of y* warre. Nowe let vs leue
spekyng of them / & 12speke of 12 kyng yuoryn ol
32 mombrant, & of 18 Huon who was with him.
1 his. *— a vppon him. 3 that. 4 vse. 8 and.
• be ready. * to. 8 Kol. xlvii. back, col. 2.
9 Madam. 10 to me. 11 vnto. 12— 12 returne to.
18 noble.
O 2
196
HUOK OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. lviii.
Haon advisee
Iroryn to attack
AnnUern a
•econd time.
% How kyng yuoryn cam agayne before
Anfalerne, & how Gerames and Huo#
fought togyder, & at last they knewe eche
other, & how they entred in to Anfalerne & 4
closed1 the admyrall without. Cap. .lviii.
Ow sheweth ye story4 that as .ii.
dayes after that kyng yuoryn had
made his cours before Anfalerne / 8
then Huon came to yuoryn and
sayde : ' Syr, cause your men too be
armed, & let vs go vysyte the Admyrall 4GaIaffer /for a
man that is in warre ought neuer to lye styll tyll he 12
hathe brought his enemy to vttraunce5 / for it semeth
that he setteth but lytell by you when he kepeth styll
your nece agaynst your wyl, 6& is6 your subiecte, &7
holdeth his lawdes of you* / 4 trende,1 quod yuoryn, 16
4 ye say truely / I shall do by your counselL' then he
made to be cryed through the cyte, that euery man
sholde make him redy to go with y* kynge before
Anfalerne / &8 Huon, who was desyrous to haue batayle, 20
armed him, & toke blanchardyn, his good horse, &8
mounted on hym without ony styrop, & toke a grete
spere in his hande with a good sharpe hede / &9 y*
same tyme as Huon was in the palayes, yuoryns doughter 24
was lenynge in a wyndowe in her chambre, accompanyed
iroryn'i daughter with dyuers ladyes & dam sell es / she behelde Huon, &
admirw hie
beauty from her she sayd / 4 by Mahounde, it is 10 goodly 10 to behold
yonder yong man syttyng on y* hors blanchardyne / 28
ryght11 well12 becometh hym8 his armure / a goodlyer
man can not be founde, nor a more hardy / for ye last
day he slew Sorbyn, the 13moost valyant18 knyght in all
1 shut 2 Historie. 3 aboute. « Fol. xlviii. ool. 1.
* vtter ruin. *— 6 hee being. 7 one that 1 omitted.
0 Now. 10-w a goodly sight. " how. 12 he.
13—13 yaliantest.
Mounted on
Blanchardyn,
Huon aete out.
Digitized by
Ca. IviiL] how huon and gerames fight together.
197
pagan j, & also wan his good hors / but yet I am dys-
pleaaed with him in1 that whew he played with me at
the chesse / he was not so hardy, ones2 to embrace nor8
4 kyase me; yf he had, I wolde haue loued him in suche
wyse that yf he had requyred of me 4ony thynge elles,4
I wolde not a6 refused him / though my fader had
sworne the contrary a C tymes ' / thus the ladyes &
8 damselles deuysed togyder of 6 Huon, who7 set lytell
therby / thus kyng yuoryn & his men yssued out of ye King ivoryn
cyte of Mombrant, & cam in7 to y* feldes, & then rode «my before
forth toward Anfalerne, & at the last cam before the Ant*s*m*
12 gates of the cyte, & there ordred them in batayle8 / &
Huon, who had grete desyre too attayne to good7
renowne, cam to the gate with his spere in his hande,
& cryed a hye9 to them that were on the walles, & sayde,
16 'where is Galaffer your lorde? go & shew him that he Huon challenge*
ia o . , i . m, . t .i i % . i the Admiral to
come 10 & lust agaynst him tliat hath slayne his nephew, avenge hit
& that I wyl seme him in lykwyse11 if I may mete nephfW', de*th*
with him in batayle, or elles he shall delyuer to me ye
20 fayre Esclaramonde ' / Galaffer was nere by, & herd
what Huon sayd, & knew wel it was he, by reson of the
hors blanchardyn, wherof 12 his hert12 was ryght sorow-
full / and sayd to Gerames / ' frende, I shall shew you Gerames offers to
24 here he that hath done me all this yll / now I shal se yf Sf the^dminS't
ye wyll kepe promys with me.' * Syr/ quod Gerames, b6h*U'
* take no care / fur by y* fayth that I owe to god / I
shall rendre to you bothe the hors & the maw / to do
28 with them at your pleaser.' then Gerames yssued out and arms himself
clene18 armed, well horsed, & toke a good spere in his
hande / he was a goodly knyght of his age, pusant of
body, and in his tyme gretely doughted 14 / & when he
32 was on hys hors, he strecched himself in the sadle in
suche wyse that his styropes stretched out a long a7
1 for. 2 as once. 8 and. 4—4 my loue. 6 haue.
6 but. 7 omitted. 8 array. 9 alowd.
w Fol. xlviii. col. 2. « like sorte. 12~12 he. 18 all.
14 redoubted.
Digitized by
Google
198
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. lviii.
He rides on in
front of the
Admiral's men.
Hoon
upon him,
end they strike
each other with
great violence.
Oerames forces
Hoon to kneel
upon the ground,
and to petition for
grace.
Hnon does not
recognize his old
friend,
handful or more ; he was gretly praised of the painims
that saw him / 1 then ye admyral GalafFer commaunded
euery mm to be armed, & he himself was armed rychel y ;
then y* gate was opened / & Gerames was y* fyrst that 4
ys8ued out with his company / when he was without
y* cyte, he strake ye hors with the2 spores so that he was
a grete space before all his company / with his spere in
his hande & sheld about his necke, & his whyte herd 8
hawgyng downe on his brest vnder his helme, &3 when
Huon, on ye other part, saw Gerames coming, he spored
blanchardyn, & cam agynst Gerames / and so they met
togyder without ony worde spekyng, & strake eche 12
other on ther sheldes so that al was broken ; but their
names4 was5 good, so that they toke none yll,6 but theyr
spers brake to their handes, 7 bo that7 the sheuers flew vp
in to the ayre / & the strokes was so rude that both 1 6
knyghtes & horses fel to ye erth / but 8 then quykly8
they arose,9 & gaue ech other grete strokes / Gerames,
who was experte in dedes of armes, toke his swe[r]de
with both his handes, and gaue Huon suche a stroke 10 on 20
the helme, that perforce he was fayne to set one of his
knees to the erthe / the stroke was so heuy / and yf it
had not ben by the grace of god, he had ben slayne /
Huon was so astonyed with y* stroke that he had moche 24
a do to ureleue, and11 sayd, 'a, good lorde, socoure me,
& 12gyue me grace12 that, or13 I dye, I may se ye fayre
Esclaramonde.' these wordes he spake openly / for 14he
had thought that Gerames vnderetode hym not,14 for 28
lytel16 he thought that it had ben Gerames that fought
with hym / then he came to Gerames with his swerde
in his hande, to 16 be1* reuenged / for he neuer receyued
1 and. 1 his. 3 Nowe. 4 armour. * so.
• hurt 7-7 and. *— 8 omitted. 9 againe.
10 Fol. xlviii. back, col. 1. recouer, but
13— 13 graunt me. 13 before.
M— 14 he thought that Gerames had not vnderetood him.
15 he before lytel. ie_w haue been.
Digitized by
Ca. lviii.] how huon recognizes oerames.
199
before, suche a stroke as Gerames had gyuen hym. Bat
Gerame8 vnderstode Huon by his wordes, & knewe but Gerames
hym / & ther with caste downe his swerde to the erth, cast7hu ™o«id
4 & had suche sorowe that he coude1 speke no2 worde / away*
whew Huon sawe that, he meruayled gretely why he caste
his swerde to the erth / for3 Huon then wold not touch
hym / but sayd, 'paynym, what is thy mynde to do? Huon inquire*
8 wylt thou haue peace, or elles fyght with me ? ' / ' a, syr/ oonduX" °f *****
quod Gerames, * come forth, & stryke of my hede / for
well I haue deserued it, syn4 that I haue stryken you so and Gerames
reveals hinuelf.
rudely; but I knewe you not / wherof I am5 sorye* /
12 when Huon herd him speke, anone he knew well that
it was Gerames, wherof he had grete ioye in his hert They cannot
for fyndynge of hym. the paynyms that regarded Th^yn^»°7
them had grete meruayle what thyng ye two champyons faction* °Ul*
16 ment or thought to do / 'syr,' quod Gerames, 'it
behoueth vs shortely to determyne oure besynes / for I
se on all partes paynyms assemble togyder to be-holde
V8 / I Shall Shew you what is be8t for VS .ii. to do / lepe6 Gerames propoeea
- _ _ that Huon shall
20 on your horse & I shall lepe on myne / then I shall take follow him into
- , - „ a a\ a Anfaleru to see
you and lede you parforce, as my prysoner, to the cyte E»daramonde.
of Anfalerne / and there shall ye se your louer Esclara-
monde, who wold7 haue grete ioye with your comynge,
24 and she wyll tell you 8 of her8 newes.' 94 frende/ quod
Huon / ' I shall do as ye deuyse ' / then they lepte on
theyr horses, & Gerames cam to Huon & layd handes The old man
. lays hand on him
on him, as though he toke hym prysoner / & so led m if he were his
prisoner.
28 him towarde y* cyte of Anfalerne, & his company
folowed hym / & when kynge yuoryn sawe how
Gerames had lede a-way Huon as his prysoner, he began
to cry, & sayd, ' on forth, ye sarazyns / how suffre you ivoryn urges hu
. , . , . men to rescue
32 this yonge man to be lede away as a prysoner to the Huon,
cyte of Anfalerne ? / I shall neuer haue ioye at my hert
yf ye suffre him thus to be led awaye ' / then y* sarazyns
1 not * a. 3 and. 4 seeing. 6 very. • youvp.
7 will. 8-8 other. 9 Fol. xlviii. back, col 2.
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200
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lviii.
bat Geremee
leads him before
the Admiral,
who bide him pat
him in prieon.
When Geremee
end Haon ere
within the city,
they end their
company of
French knighte
doee thegetee,
end, in the
ebeence of the
army in the
field,
kill all the old
men and the
women and the
children.
The town fella
into their bande.
Huon Tieite
Keclaramonde.
She welcomee
him right
joyfully.
dasshed in to the prese to haue rescued Huon / & on the
other parte the Admyrall Galaffer came & met Gerames
& Huon; & then Gerames sayd to hym, ' syr, go & fyght
with your enemyes ; beholde here y* yong man that 4
slewe your nephew Sorbryn ! I shall led him into y* cyte,
& set hym in sure pryson ;* then I shall shortly returne
agayne to you to fyght agaynst kynge Iuoryn ' / ' frende,'
quod Galaffer, ' I requyre you so do ; & as soone as you 8
haue set hym in pryson, returne agayne.' Gerames
departed fro the Admyrall, and wente to the cyte with
Huon and his .xiii companyons with hym / when they
were entred in to the Cyte, they lyfted vp the brydges 12
and closed the gates / in the cyte there was no men of
wane ;8 all were in the felde with the Admyrall agaynste
8 Yuoryn ; there were none but women and4 chyldren &
olde folkes / & whan that Gerames & Huon saw how 16
they were strong ynough for them in the cyte / they
went in to the stretes & cryed 1 saynt Denys,' & slewe all
they met, as well olde men as women & chyldren / so
that within a shorte space they had clene wonne the 20
towne / many paynyms fled & lept downe4 in to the
dykes, & brake neckes, armes, and legges / then they
went in to the palays, and there they founde the fayre
Esclaramond. and whan Huon saw her, he dyd of his 24
helme / & ran & embraced her, & whan the lady 6sawe
that it was Huon / the ioy that she had was so grete
that it was meruayle to se it / ther was suche ioy made4
at there metyng that it can not be recountyd / Huon 28
and y' lady enbrasyd and kyssyd other many tymys /
and she sayd / 'A, Huon ! ye be ryght hertely welcome /
for I went6 I sholde neuer haue sene you.'7 'Lady/
quod Huon, 4 1 ought greatly to loue & to cherysshe 32
you, & I am ryght ioyfull that it hath pleasyd 8our
lorde Iesu Cryst8 that I haue nowe founde you in good
1 and. 2 for. 3 king. 4 omitted.
* Fol. xlix. col. 1. • thought 7 more. God.
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Ca. lviii] how thb prenchmbn take the city op anfalern.
201
heJth and prosperyte / for a more trewer1 than ye be,
there is none lyuynge ' / whan all the company had
made there salutasyons one to an nother, they went to The Frenchmen
At o * <* i i * i * dine together.
* dyner, & were rychely serued / for there was greate
plentye in y* cyte / and the sarazyns were without the ouuide the dty
. ' , , . , walU the battle
cyte, where as they fought and slew eche other / there rage* between the
was suche sleyng on bothe partes that the feldes were armiea.
8 coueryd with deed men and sore woundyd ; manye a
horse ranne aboute the felde, & there maysters lyenge
deed / these two kynges fought one agaynst the other,
pusaunce agaynst pusaunce / 2 two sarazyns that were
12 escapid out of the cyte of Anfalerne came to the New. u brought
* the Admiral of
admyrall Galaffer, and sayd / 'A, syr, your cytye is the capture of bis
loste by the frenchemen who be enteryd in to it ; there dty'
is nother man nor woman 8 but that is3 slayne / the
16 olde knyght that cam to you & his .xiii. companyons
be all seruauntes to y* yong man that slewe your
neuew / whan the two frenchemen fought one witn
an nother / they toke to-gether aquyntaunce, and they
20 be all subgettes to the yonge man that was with kynge
Iuoryn / and it is he that slew the admyrall Gaudys / andof Huon»e
and dyscomfytyd the Gyaunt Agrapart / we knewe adrenture* at
hym well whan he enteryd in to the cytye / we wolde Babyl00,
24 haue shewyd you therof / but we durst not tyll4 ye
were returnyd fro the batayle. Now they be in your
palays, 6 where as it please6 them / for there is abyden6 au within the
l" t i a i «i a it ii ii town are alain
notner 'man / woman6 nor chylde8 / but all be slayne except the ladiea
28 except a9 .xxx. ladyes & damselles who were with her EacLummonda.
that sholde be your wyfe / & they be put out of the
cyte, ye may se them syttyng without the gate petously
wepynge.' / whan the Admyrall Galaflfer herd that, he
32 was heuye and sorowfull, and sayd to his men that
were aboute hym, ' Syrs, I praye you hastely gyue me
1 man. 2 and. 3-3 therein, but they are all.
4 vntill. 6 which pleaseth. 9 omitted.
7 Fol. xlix. col. 2. 8 liuing. 0 some.
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202 HUON OF burdeux. [Ca. lix.
The Admiral it sum counsell what I slial do, for it is nedfuU.' ' Syr,'
advised to submit
to King i?oryn. quod they, 'it is of necessyte that ye goo to kynge
Iuoryn, and knele downe at his fote, and pray hym to
haue mercy of 1 you / other counsell as nowe we can not 4
gyue you.' ' Syrs,' quod Galafer, 4 1 shall do as ye haue
sayd ' / than the Admyrall Galaffer, with his sworde in
his hande, went throw the prease and caw to kynge
Iuoryn, and alyghtyd fro his horse, & knelyd downe 8
He offers hu before 2 kynge Iuoryn2 / and sayd, 'syr kynge, I yeld
■word to the . . ...
King, to you my sworde / with the whiche, yf you please,
•nd teiu him of stryke of my hede, for well I haue dyseruyd it. But,
hie evil plight.
syr, I pray you, for y* loue of Mahounde, haue mercy of 12
me / I offer to make you3 amendes as you and your
lordes shall iuge / so that ye wyl ayde me to take the
frenchemen that be in my cytye, & hath taken a-way
my wyfe, your nece Esclaranionde / syr, the yonge man 16
that ye so well louyd, who cam but lat to your courte
with a mynstrell, is the same frencheman that slew
your brother the admyrall Gaudys / this tydynges I
haue herd by .ii. messengers that knew hym in your 20
courte / & now4 wtt/t hym his8 .xiiL other frenchemen
whom I had reteynyd with me to maynteyn my warre,
but they be all subgete* to the yonge man / and now
all .xiii. be in my palayes, & my wyfe with them.' 24
% Howe Iuoryn causyd Mouflet the old myn-
strell to be brought to the gybet to haue
been hangyd / & 6howe he was rescuwyd by
Huon. Capitulo .lix. 28
1 vppon. 2— 2 him. 3 such. 4 there are.
6 omitted. 6 Fol. xlix. back, col. 1.
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Ca. lix.] OP THE PEACE BETWEEN IVORYN AND THE ADMIRAL. 203
Uoryn herde Galaffer, he 1 sayd / 1 Alas !
I was vnbapye that I knew not that2
this yong man8 had slayne my brother :
yf I had, it sholde derely haue ben
bought. Xherfore, syr Galaffer, cause ivoryn orders the
• i> it i . i battle to cease,
your men to withdraw fro the batayle, and both the
and I shall withdraw myn, and I shall know of my ftrmie" 10 retIX''lt'
8 barons what counsell they wyll gyue me.' Than both
partes blew the retrayte / thaw1 kynge Iuoryn sayd to
his lordes, 'Syrs, what counsell wyl ye geue me as
touchyng ye admyrall Galaffer V / * sir/ quod they,
12 'geue hym agayne his londes / syn he axeth mercy /
yf he hath done yll, he offeryth to make amendes ' /
than Iuoryn called Galaffer, & sayd, 'stV admyrall, I He i>romis«B to
render agayne to you all your londes, & pardon you of Admiral aii hi.
16 all myn yll wyll / & besyde that, I shall helpe you to Imdto aid him
destroy the frenchemen that are in your cyte of Anfa- ^nciunen.
lerne ' / than Galaffer knelyd downe, & thankyd kynge
Iuoryn / for that courtesye that he shewyd him &
20 offeryd to do / and so wolde haue kyssyd his fete / but
Iuoryn wold not suffre hym, but lyft hym vp / Thus
these two kynges agreed together / and sware to gether
to haue the deth of Huon & his knyghtes / Tha/i Hnon and hla
24 Huon & his company abandonyd vp the cyte of Anfa- the^tya^T**0"
lerne, by cause he had so few men to kepe it / & so caiue.to *
kept ye castell, y* whiche was stronge ynow. stondyng
on a rocke on the see syde, it was4 inpreyngnable so it
28 were well vytellyd / at the corner of the castell there
was a strong towre, & vnderneth it was the porte
where as shyppes cam to theyr ancre / whan Iuoryn &
Galaffer saw that the towne was gyuen vp by the ivoryn and the
. . Admiral enter the
32 frenchemen / they enteryd in to it with all theyr great city with their
puyssaunce / & logyd aboute in the towne / but in
takyng of theyr lodgynges, Huon & Gerames and such
1 and. a omitted. 3 that.
* indeede.
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204
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. lix.
Huon'tmeu as 1were with thein shot out dartes & quarelk*2 in
•hoot darts at the
Saracens. suche wyse / that there was not ^o hardy a paynym
that durst pere before the castell. yf he dyd, he was
slayne or hurte / whan Iuoryn & Galaffer saw ye 4
The Kings erect a deelynge of the frenchemen / they raysyd vp a gybet
gibbet before the « /» i
castle. before the castell / therby to make y* frenchemen
afrayed / 8 than they toke Mouflet ye mynstrell, & bound
his handes behynde hym so sore that the blode cam out 8
at the nayles / than they hangyd his vyall aboute his
ivoryn reproaches necke / & than he was brought before Iuoryn, who
Mouflet with ' „ , „ , ,
hringinguuon sayde to hym, 'A, thou false traytore! yll hast thou
to his oourt, - _
remembred the goodness that my brother Gaudys hath 12
done to the / whan that* he that slewe hym, thou hast
brought in to my court, therby to do me dyspyte. But
and orders him to I shall nother ete nor drynke tyll thou hast thy dysert,
be hanged.
& that is, to be hangyd.' 'A, syr!' quod Mouflet, 16
'Neuer in all my lyfe I haue done or thought any
The minstrel treason / nor 6 1 know5 not that / that I brought to your
thlt^knew^ot court hym that slew your brother the admyrall Gaudys,
who Hnon might W^Q wag my |0Kj & mayster / therfore, sir, grete synne 20
it were for you to put me to deth for that I am not
gylty of.* 4 Thou lyest, false traytour/ quod Iuoryn /
He is led u> the & so coramaundyd a .xxx. men to lede hym to ye
galows / & whan they were com theder, they causyd 24
the mynstrell to mount vp on y* ladder / the frenche-
men in y* castell had great meruayle who it sholde be
that they wold hang vp there / 8 whan the minstrell was
aboue on the ladder / he tournyd hym towards y* 28
and calls on castell, & cryed wttA an hye voyce, 4 A, Huon ! how wyll
Ha on to protect *
him. ye suffer me here to dye / yet remembre the goodnes
that I haue done to you / & of 4 y* courtesye that I dyd
whan ye came all naked. I gaue you than clothynge 32
& mete & drynke / & I abandonyd to you all that I
had / yll it hath ben employed without ye rewarde me
1 Fol. xlix. back, col. 2. 2 quarrelled. 8 aud.
4 emitted. 6-6 knew.
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Ca. lix.] OP THE RESCUE OP MOUFLET.
205
better ' / whan Huon herd yc niynstrell, he knew well
that it was Mouflet who had been his mayster / than
he sayd to his company / ' syrs, 1 1 requyre you arme Hum heart him,
4 you quyckely / for the paynyms here without hath *
reryd vp a gybet, wheron they wyll hange a mynstrell hlm*
who hath done me great 2 good and2 pleasure. I wolde
be ryght sory yf he sholde haue any yll ' / than
8 Gerames and all his companyons made them redy, and
issnyed out of the castell with Huon by a secret
posterne / so that they8 were aboute y* gybet were not
ware of them tyll Huon & his company was amonge
12 them. Huon ranne at hym that sholde haue hangyd They suddenly
rueh upon the
the mynstrell, & strake hym with his spere clene throwe, gibbet and km
the hangman.
& so4 fell downe deed / and than Huon tooke downe the
mynstrell, and made hym to fly away to the posterne /
16 and his vyall about his necke. he that had sene hym Motraet rune into
the cattle.
flye a-way coude not a6 kept hym selfe fro lawghynge,
for he ranne so fast that he semyd to be no olde man /
but rather of the age of .xxx. yere. and Huon and
20 Gerames and his company slew and bet downe all the
.xxx. paynyms, so that none scapyd the deth / than0
kynge Iuoryn and Galaffer perseyuyd that there was i^m and the
' Admiral order tlw
myche a do aboute ye gybet / they sayd, 'Syrs, the Saracens to eeise
the Frenchmen
24 frenchemen are come out of the castell / go and loke that before they can
ye do so mych that none of them enter agayne ' / than fortress,
paynyms on euery parte issuyd out of there lodgynges,
and ranne thether he that best myght, without kepynge
28 of any good ordre / than Huon & Gerames, whan they
saw them comynge / they made semblaunt7 to returne
to the cyte a soft pace / & the paynyms cam after them
cryenge and howlyng lyke dogges / and whan they
32 aprochyd nere, Huon sodenly tournyd, & with his spere Ho^torne to
he mette so the fyrst that he ranne hym clene throw
the body with his spere, so that he fell downe deed,
* Fol. 1. col 1. *-* omitted. 8 that. * hee.
6 haue. 6 When. 7 semblance.
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206
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lix.
ond with Ms and G eraraes and his company strake so amonge the
men slays many
of his enemies, paynyms that ye place ran lyke a ryuer of blode of the
deed paynyms. Huon strake with his sword with both
his 1handes / he strake none with a full stroke / but 4
that he claue the hede to the teth / but fynally the
forse of the paynyms was so gret that at length they
coude not abyde it / tha7i Huon, who was expert in
dedes of armes, parseyuyd that it was tyme to departe / 8
Then all the he called his men to gether and went toward the
regain the castle, posterne / the whiche, with muche payne, they gatte in
there at ; and so they entred in all .xiii. company ons /
but yet they were so hasty d and purse wyd / that 12
except Garyn of Garyn of saint Omer abode without and defendyd
St. Omar, f _
who flghta hym 8elfe valyauntly ; But at last he was slayne by the
Msasiahi.Untl1 paynyms / than Huon was ryght sorowfull whan he
saw that Garin was not enteryd in to the castell, and 16
Huon laments hia peteously compleynyd for hym, and sayd, ' A, dere
Iom' cosyne, who for the loue of me haue left your wyfe and
chyldrene and londe and syngnoryes ! I am sory of your
deth.' ' Syr,' quod Gerames, ' leue your sorow, and 20
thynke to make good chere, and to kepe wel our fortres.
our lord god hath always aydyd you, and shall doo
throw his grace / goo we vp & make good chere / for
with this sorow we can wyn no thynge ' / than whan 24
and teiu they came in to the palays, they mette with Esclara-
Esclaramonde n „ __ , t „ . -
of his grief, mond / 2 whan Huon saw her, he sayd, ' my fayre louer,5
this day I haue lost one of my good frewde*, wherof I
am sorowfull.' ' Syr,' quod she, ' I am sory therof / 28
but that thynge that can not be recoueryd must be left /
and she consoles we be all made to dye. god shall haue mercy on his
soule' / with suche lyke wordes Esclaramonde and
Gerames apeacyd Huon / 2 whan they were in the hall 32
they vnarmyd them / and went to dyner / and after*
mete6 they lokyd out at ye wyndowes / to se the coun-
1 Fol. 1. col. 2. 2 and. 8 Loue. 4 afterwardea.
6 omitted.
him.
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Ca. lx.] OP THE SIEGE OF THE FRENCHMEN IN THE CASTLE. 207
tenaunce of y* painyms / than Gerames sayd to y* myn-
strell Mouflet,1 ' frende, I pray the take thy vyall, and
geue V8 a songe to make his2 mery' / 3 the mynstrell Mouflet deiighu
. the Frenchmen
4 tooke his instrument and gaue them a4 swet songe, the with the sound of
whiche was so me6lodyuse to here that they all beleuyd
7 they had been in paradyce / and they all made8 great
ioy with suche a ioyfull9 noyse / that the paynyms10
8 without dyd here it / & sayd amonge them selfe, c A,
these frenchemen are peple to be f earyd and doughtyd ' /
and they were ryght sorowf ull for the mew that they
had lost by the prowes of 11 .xiiii. persons.
12 f Howe the good prouost Guyer, brother to
Gerames, aryued at the porte of Anfalerne.
Capitulo .lx.
'Han that kynge Iuoryn saw & knew
16 % J\ I the grete losse that he had receyuyd,
he was ryght sorowf ull / 12 than the
admyrall GalafFer sayd / 'sir, for y* The Admiral
i . _, . ii-i/* Wde Ivoryn I* of
honour of Mahouwd, be not so sore troubled / for good cheer.
20 a thynge ye whiche ye shall well acheue & brynge
to an end. ye knowe well these frenchemen are
as a byrde beynge in a cage / for they can not
scape nother by londe nor water, & they are without
24 hope of any rescue, to daye they were .xiiii, and
now they be but .xiii. ye are lodgyd in a good The Frenchmen
cannot long hold
towne, & haue the feldes and the see at your plea- against their
sure / it is not possyble for them to escape / they haue
28 nother ship nor galay to flye in / 13syr, apeace your
selfe; suffer them to wast theyr vytaylles.' by thes
wordes, sum what kynge Iuoryn was apeasyd ; & the
frenchemen in y* castell deuysyd togyther / & Huon
1 my. * Pynson, 'his.' 1601, vb. 3 then. 4 meet.
6 Pol. 1. back, col; 1. 6 for. 7 that. 8 exceeding.
• cheerefull. » that were. 11 these. u and.
13 Therefore.
W
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208
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. be.
Huon ten that sayd to1 Gerames, 'frende, ye se well we be here
the Frenchmen
will receive no inclosyd, & we can nother departe by londe nor by
see / nor we loke for no socoure of any man lyuynge /
& here before vs are lodgyd paynyms who hathe sworne 4
our dethes ' / ' str,' quod Gerames, ' trew it is / but I
hope in our lorde god that he wyll sende vs sum good
aduenture / syr,2 yf it please 8 you, let vs two go downe
& sport vs by the water syde nere to y* porte tyll4 nyght 8
come/ 'I am content,' quod Huon / 'we may go
theder, and be not sene by the paynyms / for thether
myght come shyppe or galay with out daunger of the
withGemnee towne ' / thether they went; and whan it was nere 12
he goee down to _ a i
the eeaehore hande nyght, Huon lokyd in to the see & saw a shyppe
v^wofthet0fth* comynge thether warde / than Huon sayd to Gerames /
s*ncens. 'frende, beholde yonder comyth a shyppe wtt/i full
sayle. they wyll aryue at this porte. they be crysten 16
a ship with a red men, I se wel, by the tokens that the shyppe doth
u^n rorning**1 bere / for on the mast I se a rede crosse' / 'syr/
near to the port. Gerames, 'by all that I can se, the shyppe is of
fraunce / & therfore, as I haue sayd to you before, god 20
wyll sende vs sum good aduenture ' / & therwith, by
fere of the tempest, the shyppe came in to the hauen,
Huon approachea and cast theyr ancres. Than Huon aprochyd to the
miion fofthe * shyppe, & demaundyd for the patrone & for the mayster 24
Teeeeu ° of them that were in the shyppe / than the maryners
regardyd ye place where as they were / & they knew
clerely6 by the grete toure / that they were* in ye porte
of Anfalerne / wherof they had greate fere, & sayd one 28
The teflon are to an nother, ' A, good lorde god, helpe vs / for we se
afraid when they
eee that they are wel we are but deed, syne we be aryued here in this
juwem! porte / for we know well that the lorde of this place is
y* moost cruelest paynym betwen this & the red see.' 32
Thus they compleynyd them one to another / and
Huon, who was nere them, vnderstode them well, and
1 vnto. 9 and. 3 FoL I back, ool. 2.
4 vntill. 6 plainly. 6 seeing.
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Ca. lx.] HOW GUYER ARRIVES AT ANFALERN.
209
sayd, 4 Syrs, haue ye no dought of deth, for ye are Huon telle them
how Frenchmen
ary ued at a good porte / I requyre you 1 shew me fro hold the oaeue.
whense ye cam, and what ye be ' / and they answeryd
4 and sayd, 4syr, syn2 ye can speke frenche, we shall
shewe you so that ye wyll assure our lyues.' 4 Syrs/
quod Huon, 4 haue no fere of deth nor of any hurt that
ye shal haue / for we that hath8 this place in kepiwge They teii him
how they too ere
8 are frenchemen / therfore shew vs hardely your ententes. Frenchmen,
4 Syr,' quod they, 4 syn ye wold 4knowe what we be / we
are all borne in the countre of Fraunce / and one of vs
is of seynt Omers / and sum of the cyte of Parys, and
12 of dyuere other partes of the real me of Fraunce1/
4 frendes,' quod Huon, 4 I pray you shew me yf there
be any amonge you / borne in the cyte of Burdeux.'
' Syr/ quod one of them / 4 here is one in this shyp that and that nmon*
\ . _ , ' , t them ia Guyer
16 was borne in Burdeux, an oLle, aunsyent man / 1 from Bordeaux,
thynke he be of an .C. yere of a^e / his name is Guyer /
and we are goynge a5 pylgremage, for the loue of our on a pilgrimage
lorde Jesu Cryst, to vysyt the holy sepulcure / but stpuiciw!1
20 fortune, by force of tempest of the see, hathe causyd vs
to aryue here, 6 the whiche6 tempest hath enduryd
these thre dayes & thre nyghtes passyd / wherby we be
so wery & so sore trauayled that we can do no more ' /
24 4 frende,' quod Huon, 4 1 pray you shewe hym forth, that Hnon **■ to see
Gayer,
ye speke of ' / than the patron of the shyp commaundyd
that the olde man of Burdeux sholde com forth, than
Guyer the prouost cam to Huon, & sayd, * sir, beholde «»d recognizee
in him the
28 me here ! what please7 it you to say to me? / whan proToet.
Huon sawe hym, he knew incontynent that it was
Guyer the prouost / & sayd, 1 frende, I requyre you He inquire* the
shew me where ye were borne / & what hath mouyd journey.
32 you to come hether, seynge the grete age that ye be of,
and to shew me what is your name.' 4 Syr/ quod he,
4 1 shall shew you y* trouthe / I had a lorde whom I
i to. 1 seeing. 3 haue. 4 Fol. li. col. 1.
* emitted. and thia. 7 pleaaeth.
OHARL. ROM. VI. P
210
BOON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lx.
Gayer tells how
he one* served
Hnon of
Bordeaux,
whom
Charlemagne
banished;
and how the
daohess, Boon's
mother, is dead ;
and how Gerard,
Huon's brother,
holds all his land,
and how he rules
so tyrannically
that the herons of
the country have
sent him, the old
provost, to seek
oat Huon, the
rightful heir,
louyd entyerly; he was son to duke Seuyn of Bur-
deux / & he was called Huon / & so it fell1 that after
the deth of his father about a .vii. yere, kinge Charle-
mayn sent for hym to do his homage & to reseyue his 4
londe of hym / the yonge man, by y* commaundement
of his mother,9 & his brother Gerard with hym, tooke
theyr way towardes Parys / and by the way kynge
Charlemayns sonne called Chariot was lyenge in a wood 8
by the couwsell of certen traytours, & there lay in a
waye to haue slayne Huon & his brother Gerarde / but
the case feU other 8wyse / for Huon slew Chariot, not
knowinge who it was; wherfore kynge Charlemayn 12
banyshyd hym4 the realme of Fraunce, and chargyd
hym, or8 he tournyd,6 to go to Babilone to do a message
to the admyrall Gaudys / & 7 his brother Gerarde abode
sty 11 at Burdeux to kepe the herytage / & than the 16
duches his mother was so full of sorowe that her son
was so banyshyd without cause / that she tooke there8
such a maladye / that she dyed therof / a9 .v. yere past /
& so therby Gerarde is lorde & gouernour of all y* 20
londes, & he is maryed to the doughter of y* moost
fellest10 tyraunt fro thense in to Spayne / & this Gerarde
hath lerned of hym many yll customs, & hath left all
y* good wayes that was vsyd in ye dayes of duke Seuyn 24
& of ye duches his mother / & he hath reysyd vp in all
his londes / new taylles & gables & inpossessyons,11 &
chasyd & put fro hym all noble men / he dystroyeth
the burgesses and marchaunte*, wedous & orphelyns / 28
there can no man shew you y* yll that he hath done &
doth daylly / & he hath dysheryt me / & on a day the
barons of the countre desyryd me that I wolde take the
payne to go and serche, as well by londe as by water, yf 32
I myght fynde the yonge lord Huon, who is our ryght-
1 it fell so out
4 out of. * ere.
8 therof. 9 about
» he. » Fol. li. col. 2.
6 returned. T But
10 cruellest. 11 Impositions.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxi.] how outer finds huon and his brother.
211
full lord, it is no we a1 two yere that I haue serened and how h« has
for hym in dyuers countrees / but I coude neuer here And him.
one worde of hym, wherof I am ryght sorowfull / & to
4 eeke hym I haue spent all my golde & syluer / how be
it, these good marchaunte* hath taken me in to there
shyp for the loue of god / they thought to haue brought
me in to Fraunce / but by fortune we be here aryued at
8 this porte.'
f How Huon & Gerames, & al there com-
pany, with the fayre Esclaramonde, departyd
fro the castell of Anfalerne, & 2entred in to2
12 the see. Ca. .lxi.
Han Huon vnderstode ye prouost
Guyer / he sayd to Gerames / ' Syr, o«ramei re«*-
j> ai. t. / t i_ * j nlxet hit brother
come forthe here / I haue founde in Guyer,
your brother ' / thaw Gerames came
to his brother, & enbraced &
kyssyd hym, &4 all wepynge sayd,
' my dere frende & brother, ye be ryght hertely wel-
20 com.' ' A, brother/ quod Guyer, ' nowe I care not
whether I lyue or dye / syn5 I haue founde you. and
yf it were so yet that onnes or6 I dyed I myght se
my lorde Huon / than I cared not how sone I dyed.'
24 'A, dere brother/ quod Gerames, 'ye shall not dye so
sone, & yet ye shall se Huon, whose presence ye so and ihowi him
A * how he has at
sore desyre / it is Huon to whom ye haue spoken to7 length found
al this season ' / than Huon, sore wepynge, cam & en-
28 braced Guyer, & sayd / ' my dere frend, your comynge
is a ioye to my herte, for a more trewer knyght can not
be found ' / ' syr/ quod Guyer, ' do ye know me ? ' / ' ye,
trewlye/ quod Huon / 'and do ye know me?' / 'ye,
1 about. *-* sayled thence on. 3 Pol. li. back, col. 1.
* & afttr weeping. * seeing. • that yet once ere.
T omitted.
P 2
Digitized by
Google
212 HUON OF BURDEUX. [Ca. lxL
syr,' quod Guyer, ' ye are sore1 desyryd in Fraunce / &,
brother Gerames, I desyre you to shew me where ye
haue ben syu* I saw you, for it is a8 lx. yere syn2 ye
oeinmw teiu bu departyd out of Fraunce ' / than Gerames shewed hym 4
adventures. all his lyfe / & shewed at length how he founde Huon /
longe they were talkynge togyther, wherof they of y*
shyp were ryght ioyfull / for than they saw well they
were aryued at a good porte / 4 than Huon sayd to the 8
maryners, 1 Syrs, I pray you make this nyght no grete
noyse, nor make no fyer, nor shewe no lyght / for here
before the castell is lodged two admyralles / paynyms,
Huonpropoee* who hath5 sworne that they wyll neuer goo hense 12
that they and * * °
their company tyll6 they haue vs at theyr plestr, therfore I counsell
and Eftclaramonde .
■imii embark for that we may scape out of this castell / we be here,
•lupin which a8 .xiii. persons, & with vs a noble lady / wherfore
Guyer is wiling. ^ reqUvre you lette vs com in to yoMr shyp, or 16
elles we be all lost / & fere not but ye shalbe well
payed for your laboure ; ye shall haue gold & syluer as
myche as ye wyll desyre.' ' Syr/ q?(od the pa7trone,
' ye nede not to speke of any golde or syluer / for this 20
our shyp is yours, to do ther with at your pleasure * /
' syr/ quod Huon, * I thanke you of your courtesy e / I
praye you & your company come with me in8 the
castell, and I shall charge your shyp with golde & 24
syluer, & ryche iewelles & presyus stoones / that you
& al yours shal be ryche for euer / this must be done
in hast, or9 the paynyms here without parseyue vs / for
yf they pcrceyue vs, we shal neuer get hense, for10 in- 28
contynent they wyll sende11 of theyr shyppes, & take
thys shyp.' ' sir/ quod the patrone, ' we are redy to obey
Huon invitee the your commaundemenW 1 / 4 than ye patrone & .xxiiii.
the treasure in maryners went with Huon in to the castell / & chargyd 32
theca»tie. ^ ^ treasure that was within y* castell, A other
ryches that Huon & his company had taken in the
1 greatly. * since. 8 about. 4 and. 6 haue. 8 uqtill.
7 Fol. li. back, col. 2. 8 to. 9 before. 10 but. 11 some.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxL] OP THE PLIGHT OF HUON WITH HIS COMPANY. 213
towne / they bare all in to y* shyp, & vytaylles suffy-
cyent / than Huon toke Esclaramonde by ye hande, all
smylynge, & sayd, 1 fayre lady, one thynge I demaunde
4 of you / be ye not dyspleasyd to leue ye countre <fc
londe where as ye were borne 1 ' ' Syr,' quod she. ' I Bedaramonde
i i , , \ , , / declare* that she
haue longe desyryd to se y* day that I nowe do se1 / it wining toieaTe
her native land.
well we may thauke our lord god Iesu Cryst,2 that
8 hath gyuen vs that grace to be sette8 out of the handea
of y* enemy es of ye fayth of Cryst, wherin we ought
to beleue' / than Uuon entred in to the shyp, & y*
fayre Esclaramonde, & Gerames, & all the other com-
1 2 pany ; so they were in nombre within ye ship a4 .xxxiiii.
persons / & with them was Mouflet y* mynstrell / &
whan they were all entred in to the shyp, & y* shyp At length the
chargyd with all thynges necessarye / they weyed vp ^^uhThe
1 6 theyr ancres, & lyft6 vp theyr say lies / & so had a good ^Bedei!?**
freshe wynde / so that they were within a whyell far S^^nd much
fro y* londes of ye .ii. admyralles sarazyns / they saylled
so6 that or7 it was daye lyght they were passyd y* coost
20 of y* Kodd^ / & so passid8 by the yle of Cret / & so,
by the ayde of god & good wynde, they aryued at y* Tiiey «oon anrire
porte of Brandys / & so aboute noone, ye admyrall that B^ondy,•
lay at 9sege before y* castell of Anfalerne had gret
24 meruayle that they coude se no man sterynge within
the castell / than a paynym sayd to Iuoryn / ' syr, know xm of their
, » flJght is brought
for trouthe, within the castell ye shal fynde no man / to King iroryn.
the frenchemen are10 fled ; But we can not tell how ' /
28 when the two admyralles herd that / they were sore
troubled; & in hast they sette forth a galay & .xxx.
paynyms therin, commaundyng them to go to the
posterne / the whiche they dyd incontynent / and
32 whan they came theyr / they founde nother man nor
woman / & 11 founde the posterne open / & so they entred
1 therefore. 2 God. 8 fet (fetcht). 4 some.
6 hoysed. 9 long. T ere. 8 came.
• Fol. Hi. col. 1. 10 all. » but
Digitized by
214
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxii.
TheSaraoww in to the castell, & than1 openyd the hrode ggtcs I &
enter U» castle.
the two admyralles entred in, sore dyspleasyd that the
frenchemen were so scapyd. Now let vs leue spekynge
of theym, & returne to Huon, who was aryued in 4
sauegarde at ye porte of Brandys.
% How Huon & his cowpany aryued at the
porte of Brandys / and fro thense went to
Rome to the pope, who weddyd togythers
Huon and the fayre Esclaramonde ; & of
theyr departynge2 thense. Ca. .lxii.
II an Huon & his company saw howe
they were aryued at the porte of 12
At Brondji huol [ill Brandy s, they issuyd out of theyr
and hit company \MI HA I 'I3 I
go to church and V^lWlV1A?ll slivp. & deuoutlye went to the chyrche
giT« thanks for
th«ir dciiTcrance. ^^?^^v 0f our lady/ and there gaue laude &
thankes3 to our lorde god, 4 and to his mother and 16
vyrgyne, our lady seynt Mary, in that they4 had
brought them thether in 5 sauegarde / than they went to
Garyn of seynt Omers lodgynge. whan they came there,
the lady of the house, who was ryght sage6 and courtoys, 20
cam to Huon & sayd, ' Syr, of your comynge I am ryght
ioyus.7 But, syr, I pray you wher ha8ue ye left Garyn
my lord and housbondel for syn9 I se hym not with
you, my hert trymbleth / for fere leest he be deed, or 24
Hnon tciis elles 10 sum great encumbraumie.,n 'Dame/ 12 quod
Oarin'swifoof , , , , *
her husband's Huon, ' to hyde the trouthe fro you, can not cause you to
haue hym agayne / for it hathe pleasyd 13 our lorde13 god
that he is departyd oute of this worlde / wherf ore I wyll 28
counsell you, as mych as ye may, leue doloure and
heueneys / for we must all come therto / and I repute
1 so. 8 from. 8 praise. 4-4 that.
6 such. 8 wise. 7 ioyfull. 8 Fol. lii. col. 2.
9 seeing. 10 of. 11 happened voto him.
12 Madame. . 18-w omitted.
Digitized by
Ca. lxiL] HOW huon arrives at bomb.
215
you so sage1 / that ye know well that for any sorow or
wepynge that ye can2 make, ye can not haue hym
agayne 1 / whan the ladye had herde Huon / she fell
4 downe in a transe, more lyke to be deed than alyue /
than Huon and his company set her vp, and comfortyd
her as myche as they myght / than Esclaramonde tooke Eaclaramonde
and brought her in to her chambre / and dyd so mych 10 oomfort
8 with her fayre & swete wordes, that sum what she
apeasyd her / and than, sore wepynge, she cam to Huon /
& he sayd, 4 dame,8 apeace your selfe, and pray for hym,
for we must all passe the same passage ' / with these
12 wordes and such other, y* lady was apeasyd / than they
washt and went to dyner / and after, Gerames & other
of his company went in to ye towne, and bought horse
and mules to ryde on, & bought ryche gownes all in
16 one lyuery. ther they taryed an4 .viii. dayes, & on the Eight dayi they
.ix. daye they payed the patrone of the shyp in suche Broody.,
wyse that he was ryche euer after, & euery maryner
had a good rewarde / wherof they thanked Huon, &
20 offeryd to do hym seruyce. Than Huon and Esclara- The muur and
aailortof tha ship
monde, with all his6 company, tooke theyr leue of there thatratcnadtham
hostes, whom they left sore wepynge / and at theyr £^arta&
departynge, Huon gaue her a ryche gyft, wherof humbly
24 she thanked hym / 6 whan they were all redy, and theyr
baggage trussyd7 / they departyd & tooke the way Huon and
Esdaramonda
towardes Rome with grete ioy & gladnes / who so euer and hit company
was ioy full, Guier the prouost was 8 ioy full in two ** ** R°rar*
28 maners / one, in that he had founde his lorde Huon /
and the other, for that he had founde his brother
Gerames, and also by cause that his lorde Huon had
fulfylled the message that kynge Gharlemain had
32 chargyd hym to doo to the admyrall Gaudys / so longe
they rode,0 that in a mornynge they came to Home, &
1 wise. 9 omitted. 8 Madame. 4 about.
6 their. 6 and. T vp. 8 Fol. lii. back, col. 1.
9 together.
216
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxii.
On their arrival
they all vlait Uie
Pope.
Haon tellt him
how lie haa
accomplished the
Emperor's
million,
and ask* him to
admit Esclnra-
monde into the
Christian
Next day
EscUramonde
and Mouflet are
both christened.
alyghtyd at theyr lodgynge / than they al togyther
went to here theyr1 deuyne seruyce : & as they Issued
out of the chyrche, they met a seruaunt of the popys /
than Huon demaundyd of hym in what estate the pope 4
was in. ' Syr/ quod the squyer, ' he is redy to here
me88e ' 2 / than Huon & his company lept on theyr horses,
and rode to the popys palays, and theyr alyghtyd / and
than Huon held the fayre Esclaramonde by the hande / 8
& the good prouost Guyer held his brother Gerames by
the hande / and so all the other .ii. and .iL8 than they
founde the pope set4 in his trone deuysyng wM his
cardynelles / than Huon approchyd & salutyd hym 12
humbly / whan the pope beheld Huon, he knew hym
incontynent, & rose vp, & came5 & enbracyd Huon,1
& kyssyd his cheke, and sayd / 4 fayre sonne Huon, ye
be welcom ! I pray you shew me howe it is with you, 16
& shew me of your aduentures.' ' Syr/ qiwd Huon, ' I
haue enduryd yll* and trouble ynough, & all these
other that are come with me / but thanked be oure
lorde 7Iesu Cryst,7 it is so now8 I haue brought with 20
me / the berde & great teth of the admyra'U Gaudys /
& haue also brought his doughter, who is here present /
&, sir, I requyre you to geue her crystondome / and
than I wyll wed her to my wyfe.' ' Huon,1 quod y* 24
pope, ' all this pleasyth me ryght well to do, and the
rather syn9 it is your pleasure ; & I desyre you tary
here with me this nyght.' 1 Syr/ quod Huon, ' your
pleasure shal be myn.' Thus Huon and his company 28
taryed with ye pope all that nyght, wher as they made
grete ioy / and in the next mornynge / 10 A funt was
made redy / wherin the fayre Esclaramounde was
crystenyd without chaungynge of her name / and also 32
there was crystenyd Mouflet the mynstrell / & he was
1 omitted.
6 to him.
* semice. 8 together.
• many euil*. 7_ 7 g<>d.
9 seeing. 10 Fol. lii. back, col. 2.
8 together. 4 sitting.
7- 7 god. * that.
Digitized by
Ca. lxii.] OF THE MARRIAGE OP HUON AND ESCLARAMONDE. 217
namyd1 Garyn. 2 whan the sacremeut of baptysme Theminetrei
taken the mm of
was fynyshyd / the pope hymselfe 8sange masse;8 Gariu.
fyret he confessyd Huon, & assoylled hym of all his
4 synnes;4 than he wedded hym to Esclaramonde / and
whan 8 all the5 deuine seruyce was endyd / then they
went all with the pope to his palays, and there was The Pop marries
Huon to
made the solempnytes of y' maryage / 8 to shew the EacUramonde,
8 maner of theyr seruyce, with meetes and drynkes and
aparell of the hrydes / it 7sholde be tedyous7 to reherce
it But one thynge I dare well say,8 there had not ben
sene9longe9 before, suche a glory us and ryche fest / for tfl** »
12 the pope dyd as myche10 as tho they had ben his owne
brother and syster / the melodye of the mynstrelles
that played was so swete and delectable that euery
man was sitysfyed with the herynge therof / and
16 specyally it was meruayle to here Garyn, the newe
crysten11 mynstrell, to play / he played so swetly on his
yyall that it was12 ioy to here it / Thus there was Qreatjoy it in the
Pope't palace.
gret ioy in the popys palays / and 13 yf they had ben
20 well serued at the dyner18 / it was better at soupper /
than2 at nyght euery man with-drew14 / and the new
brydes lay togyther in grete pleasure all that nyght /
& in the mornyng they rose & herd masse,16 & than
24 dynid / 2 than they trussyd18 all theyr baggages, <fe
chargyd theyr somers / mules & mulette* / & sadel) d
theyr horses / 2 than Huon & Esclaramonde went & toke
theyr leue of the pope, & thankyd hym of 17 y* honour
28 & grete courtesy that he had shewed them, ' Syr/
quod y* pope, 'yf it wold please you to tary lenger Huon and his
here with me, my goodes and my house shold be at leave of um Pope,
your commaundement.' 1 Syr/ quod Huon, ' T can not
1 called. 2 and. 3 3 said seruice. 4 faulteB.
3 3 omitted. 6 but. 7~7 would be ouer- ted ioua.
8 that •-• of n long time. » for them.
11 christened. 12 great,
is—is enen as they were well serued at dinner, so.
14 hiniselfe. 16 seruice. 16 vp. 17 for.
Digitized by
218
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. kiii.
render1 thankee to your holynes for ye good that ye
haue done to vs. But, syr, lenger 2 1 can not tary, for
the grete desyre that I haue to acomplyshe the rest
of my besynes / therfore, syr, I recommaunde you to 4
our lord god.' the pope kyssyd Huon, & touchy d 8
Esclaramond by the hande. Thus they tooke theyr
leue / and at theyr departynge, ye pope sent to them a
Somer chargyd with gold, and clothes of sylke / and 8
thus they departyd fro Kome.
% Howe Huon and his company aryued at
the abbay of Mauryse, whereas he was
reseyued by the abbot and couent with 12
grete reuerence. Ca. .lxiii.
Fter that Huon had take leue of the
4 holy father the4 pope, he and his
company departyd, & the fayre 16
Huon and J^WM^IB Esclaranionde was mountyd on a
rid^ftom^Roine to ^St/^^^f fayre mu^e 4rycnety aparelyd4 / 6 so
longe they rode 4throwe cytyes / townes / and
vylages4 tyll they myght se 4afarre of, the stepelles 20
and toures of4 the cyte6 of Burdeux / whan Huon
sawe it, he lyft vp his handes to y* heuen, thankiwge
god of his grace that he had brought hym thether
in saue garde / and than he sayd to Esclaramonde, 24
'fayre lady, yonder ye may se 4before you4 the
cite and countre wherof ye shalbe lady & duchea /
though it hath been or7 thys tyme a realme.' 'Syr,'
onytr the provo.t quod Guyer the prouost, 'it is good ye regarde wyslye 28
intoraanSgh^ your besynes, the whiche touchy th you ryght nere ;
hu'2mingb0t0f and, syr, yf ye wyll do by8 my counsell / sende fyrst
to an abbay that is here by, called the abbay of
1 sufficient. 1 Fol. liii. col. 1. * tooke.
*—* omitted. 6 and. 6 town. 7 ere. 8 after.
Digitized by
Ca. lxiv.] HOW HUON GOES towards bordeaux.
219
Mauryse / the abbot is a notable clerke ; lette hym know
of your corny nge, & that ye wyll dyne with hym.'
' Syr/ quod Huon, 4 your counsell is to be% beleuyd ' /
4 Uhan Huon sent to the abbot, certefyeng hym of his
corny nge / whan the abbot knew of Huons 2comynge he
was ryght ioyfull, for he louid intyerly Huon, wherfore
he sore desyred the syght of hym / than he called all his The Abbot bids
. all his monks
8 couent, and chargyd them, in the vertue of obedyence, give Huon a
to 8reuest them selues with crosse and myter & copes,8 warm w#lco,ne*
to reseyue Huon, the ryght full enherytour to the
countre of Burdeux / though the kynges of Fraunce be
12 our founders. But as to oure goode neyboure, we wyll
doo this reuerence / for honoure is dew to them that dy-
eerueth it ' / than the couent, as they were commaundyd,
orderyd themselues / & so went out of the abbay to
16 mete Huon, who, whan he saw them, he alyghtid a4
fote, and also Esclaramonde and Gerames, and all the
other / thus the abbot and his couent in ryche 6 copes
syngynge* mette with Huon / whan Huon was nere to
20 the abbot, he was ryght ioyfull / and the abbot, who
anone knew Huon, came to hym ryght humblye,
and sayd / 'syr duke of Burdeux, thankyd be god in procession
J 1 J they sing together
that ye are come home, for your presence hath longe in honour of
# H lion's return.
24 ben desyryd ' / than they embrasyd eche other with
wepynge teres for ioy / than the abbot welcomyd y
prouost Guyer and all the other. But he knew not
Gerames; for yf he had, he wolde haue made hym
28 great fest.*
% How the good abbot sent word to duke
Gerard of Burdeux how his brother Huon
was in the abbay of Mauryse.
32 Capitulo .lxiiii.
1 and. * Fol. liii. col. 2. *-s make them selues readye.
4 on. *— * clothes seeming. 6 feasting.
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220
HOON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxiv.
Kaon and his
company tarry at
the abbey of
Maury ee,
and are right well
entertained.
Huon relates the
success or hie
mission.
The Abbot
advisee Huon to
inform his
brother of bis
return.
A messenger Is
despatched.
?IIus the abbot with hys couewt brought
Huon to the abbay of Mauryse xwith
solempne processyon1 / and Huon and
Esclaramonde a * fote folowyd 8 the 4
crosses;8 & whan he came in to the
chyrch, 1Huon kyst al y* holy 4relikes, and1 Huon
offeryd great gyftes / & after theyr offeri/iges & prayers
made / they went in to the hall, and went to dyner. 8
how well they were seruyd, nede not to be rehersyd /
they had euery thynge that nedyd / the abbot
sat by Huon, and eayd / 'syr, I pray you shew me
how ye haue done, and how ye haue done5 your 12
message that ye were chargyd6 by kynge Charlemayn.'
'Syr,' quod Huon, 'thankyd be our lorde god, I haue
acumplyshyd and done all that I was commaundyd to
do, for I haue brought with me ye berde & y0 .iiii.7 teth 16
of y* admyrall Gaudya / & also I haue brought with me
his doughter, the fayre Esclaramonde, whom I haue
weddyd in the cyte of Rome; <fc to morowe, by the
grace of god, I wyll departe to go to kynge Charlemayne 20
my soueraygne lord 1 / 1 Sir/ quod the abbot, ' of that
I am ryght ioyus8 / but, 1sir,1 yf it were your pleasure,
I wolde sende to certyfye your comming to Gerard your
brother / that he myght se you or9 ye departyd10 24
hense' / 'sir/ quod Huon, ' I am content11 ye sende for
hym ' / than y* abbot commaundyd a squyer of his to
go for duke Gerard / & so he went, & restyd not tyll he
cam to Burdeux before duke Gerarde, & sayd, 1 syr, if 28
it be your pleasure to come to ye abbaye of seynt
Maiuyse / there shall ye fynde your brother Huon, who
is come strayte12 fro beyond ye see' / whan duke
Gerarde herd surely13 how his brother Huon was com to 32
1-1 omitted. 2 on. 5-4 them.
4 Fol. Iiii. back, col. 1. 6 ended. • to do. T great.
8 ioyful. • before. 10 depart 11 that.
12 lately. 13 certainely.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxv.] of qerard's treachery.
221
y* abbay of sei/*t Mau rise, he was so ouereorae with yre G«rmrd grow.
fyer, & sayd to ye messenger / * go & retourne, & say to
4 my brother Huon / that I wyll ineowtynent com & but promts* to
risit him at the
vysyt hym ' / ' syr,' quod he, 1 1 shal shew hym of your abbey,
comraynge,' & so departyd, & came agayne to the
abbay, & shewyd Huo/* what his brother Gerarde had
8 sayd. And whan duke Gerard sawe that the messenger Gerard eaiu on
Gybouare, hit
was dt-partyd, he was sorowf all and pensyue, and called traitorous father-
to hym his father in law, his wyfes father, who was him. '
namyd Gybouars / the most fal1sest traytour that was
12 fro y* Est to the west / & Gerarde sayd to hym / ' sir,
I pray you geue me counseil in that I haue to do / for
all the deuelle* in hell / hath brought my brother Huon
fro the partes beyonde ye see, & he is now present in
16 the abbay of seiwt Mauryse / tho abbot there hath sent
me worde therof, & that I shold com thether to speke
with hym / for as to morowe he wyll departe to go to
Parys to the kynge, so that whan he is come thether, he when Huon gt*e
20 wyll do so mych / that all his londe shalbe renderyd to Emperor, »u his
hym / so3 that I shall haue neuer a fote of londe8 but reeu>redltohta.
that4 ye haue geuen me with my wyfe, your dough ter /
wherfore, dere father in lawe, I pray you in this grete
24 mater to counseil and to5 ayde me, or elles I am but
lost' / 'fayre son,' quod Gybouars, 4 dysmay you no oybouan
promises to
thynge / for without my wyt do fayle me, I thynke to outwit uuou.
playe hym a tourne, that it had been better for hym to
28 hauo taryed there9 he was / than to7 come hether to
clay me any8 londe.'
^ How Gybouars of Beam, & Gerard, Ima-
genyd9 Huons deth / and how the traytour
32 Gerarde cam to se his brother Huo#, who
with gret ioy reseyuyd hym. Ca. .lxv.
1 Fol. liii. back, col. 2. 2 and. 3 left me. 4 which.
• omXtUd. • where. 7 have. 8 my. • practised.
& dyspleasure / that his vysage became lyke a flame of
angry when the
newt le brought
him,
222
HUON OF BURDEUX [Ca. lxv.
Gybouars bids
Gerard go to
Huon,
and, aftar giving
him a loving
weloome,
Induoe hira to eat
out with him for
Bordeaux.
In a little wood
Gybouars will lie
In ambush to
seize Huon and
make him
prisoner,
end of him.
Gerard is also to
rob him of the
teeth and the
beard he ie
bearing back,
and it ehall be
told the Emperor
that Huou has
returned without
them,
whereupon
Charlemagne will
surely demand
his lift.
[Has, as ye haue herd, *sayd these ii
tray tours1 / than Gybouars sayd to
Gerarde / ' fayre son, goo ye your way
to yonr brother Huon, & take with you 4
but one squyer / & whan ye come
there, make to hym all the chere ye can / & shew
hym as grete loue as ye can do, & humble your
selfe to hym, to then tent that he take in you no sus- 8
pecyon / &2 whan y' mornynge commeth, hast hym
to departe / & whan ye come with hym nere such a
lytell wood, fynde sum rygurus wordes to hym, &
make as though ye were dyspleasyd with hym / & I 12
shalbe redy in that same lytell wood enbusshid, 8 and
xl men of armes with me, & whan I se that wordes
[be]4 bet wen you / I shall Issu out, and slee all those
that become5 with hym, so that none shall scape alyue / 16
& than take your brother Huon, and cast hym into a6
pryson in on of the toures of your palays in Burdeux,
and there myserably he shall ende his dayes / and than
in hast ye shall ryde to Parys / but or7 ye goo to Parys, 20
ye shall take fro hym the admyralles berde & great
teth / & than ye shall shewe to y* kynge, how Huon
your brother is retumyd with out bryngyng other
berde or teth of the admyrall Gaudys / and how for 24
that cause ye haue set8 hym in pryson / the kynge wy 11
beleue you, for he hateth greatly Huon, by cause of ye
deth of his sonne Chariot whom he slew ; for the hate
that the kynge hath to hym in his herte, shall neuer 28
departe from hym / and therfore, sonne, whan ye be
with your brother, demaunde of hym yf he haue the
admyralles berde and teth, or not / and whether he do
here them hymselfe, or who elles / for yf he haue them 32
not, he shal neuer haue peace with y§ kyng / but he
1—1 these two traitors conspired, and.
8 Fol. liiii. (prig, xlix.) col. I. 4 are.
> But
• come.
• omitted.
put.
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Google
Ca. lxv.] OF THE MEETING OF HUON AND GERARD. 223
wyll cause hym to be slayne of an yll1 deth, other3
hangyd or drawyn ; for your brother layd hostage,
promysynge that he wolde neuer retourne without he
4 brought with hym y* admyrall Gaudys berde and great
teth / and also he promysed that he sholde8 neuer enter
in to his herytage tyll he had spoken with the kynge ;
& that was euiunyd hym on payne of deth.' Thus, as
8 ye haue herde, these .ii. traytours deuysyd and con-
cludyd the deth of Huon. ' Gerarde,' quod Gybouars / Gybouars goes to
assemble forty
1 thynke well of4 your besynes / & I shall go & men to ue with
y % t» him in ambush.
assemble to-gether .xl. of my moost secrete seruantes,
12 & in other places where as6 I can gette them, to
furnyshe this entrepryse.' 'Syr/ quod Gerarde, 'I
shall goo to the abbay to se my brother whan it is a
lytell nerer to y* nyght ' / &• whan the owre came, the
16 false traytour departyd 7 fro Burdeux, & with hym but Gerard eets out
with one *<juirs
one squyer, & so 8 rode tyll he8 came to the abbay /& there from Bordeaux,
alyghtyd : & whan he perseyuyd his brother Huon / he M meeU aou*
enbrasyd & kyssyd hym with suche a kysse as Iudas kyst H^g^g^m*
20 Cryst / whan Huon saw Gerarde his brother come with
suche humylite / the water fell fro his / 9iyen for9 kynd-
nes, and enbrasyd hym & kyst hym, & sayd / ' ryght Huon it orer-
Joyed to tee ld§
dere brother, I haue grete loy to se you ; I pray you brother.
24 shewe me how you haue done syn my departure.' 1 Syr/
qaod Gerarde, 1 ryght well, now I se you in good helth.'
4 Brother,' quod Huon, 1 1 haue gret meruayle that ye
be thus come alone without company.' ' Syr,' quod
28 Gerarde, 'I dyd it for ye more humilyte, by cause I Gerard promisee
to assemble all
know not how ye shall spede with the kynge / nor the barons to
whether ye shall haue agayne your londe or no. yf god Bordeaux,
wyll that ye shall haue it, I shall than5 assemble all
32 the barons of the countre10 to reseyue you, and to make
you chere accordynge / this, str, I shall do tyll ye
1 cuill. 2 either. 8 would. 1 on.
6 omitted. • so. 7 Fol. liiii. {prig, xlix.) col. 2.
8 they. »-B eyes with. 10 court.
Digitized by
224 HUON OF burdeux. [Ga. lxv.
re to a mo / often 1 tymys these grete pry nces are mutable
& lyghtly beleuy th ; for this cause, air, I am secretly
Haon thanki com to you.' 4 Brother/ quod Huon, * your aduyse is
Gerard, and says _ .
how he is setting good : I am content that ye thus so* do / and to morow 4
out ioi Paris ^ tymys I wyll departe towardes Parys ' / than these
two bretherne toke eche other by the hand, makynge
grete ioy. 'Brother/ quod Gerard, 1 1 am ryght ioyous
whan I se you thus retournyd in helth and pro*peryte / 8
haue ye acumplyshyd the message that kynge Charles
chargid you withal V / 1 brother/ quod Huon, 4 know for
with the heard trouthe that I haue the berde & grete teth of the
Admiral QaudUae, adniyrall Gaud j 8 ; & besyde that, I haue brought with 12
me his doughter, ye fayre Esclaramounde, whom I haue
taken to my wyfe, and weddyd her in the cyte of
andmnch Rome ; and also I haue here with me .xxx. somen
treasure from the
B««t. chargyd with gold and syluer& ryche iuelles garnysbyd 16
with presyous stones / wherof ye halfe parte shalbe
yours / & yf I shold shew you y* paynes / trauelle*, &
pouertyes that I enduryd ssyn* I saw you last, it sholde5
be ouer long to reherse.' 1 Syr/ quod Gerarde, ' I be- 20
leue you well / but, syr, I pray you shewe me by what
meanes or ayde ye dyd brynge your enterpryse to an
Huon teiis how ende.' ' Brother/ quod Huon, 1 it was by a kynge of the
Oberon aided
him, fay rye, called Oberon, who dyd me such socoure and ayde, 24
that I came to my purpose, and strake of the ad my ra lie*
hede, and so toke his berde and great teth.' ' Brother/
and how the quod Gerarde. '& how do ye kepe them, & where?'
objects of his
minion are kept * Brother/ quod Huon, 4 beholde here Gerames, who 28
hath them in his syde / kynge Oberon dyd set them
there by the fayrye & by the wyll of god 1 / * syr/ quod
he, 'whiche is Gerames V 'Brother/ quod Huon,
1 here ye may se hyra before you : he with the great 32
hore6 berde.' 1 Syr/ quod Gerarde, 1 of what londe is
i for. 1 omitted.
3 Fol. liiii. (prig, xlix.) back, col. 1. 4 aince.
* would. • hoarie.
in Oeramee's side,
Digitized by
Ca. lxvi.] HOW HUON AND GERARD CONVERSE TOGETHER. 225
he off / 'he is of the best frendes that I haue/ quod and how he bed
chanced to meet
Huon / ' and he is Brother to the good prouost Guyer / Geramea.
je neuer herd speke of a trewere nor more noble man /
4 I found hym in a wood, where as he had dwelt a1 .xL
yere in penaunce / god aydyd me greatly whan I founde
hym / for yf he had not ben, I coude not haue retourned
hether / mych payne and pouerte he hath endurid for
8 my sake. And now, Brother, I pray you shewe me
howe ye haue done syn I departyd fro you. it hath ben
shewyd me 2 howe ye be2 rychely maryed / 1 praye you
where was your wyfe borne, and of what lynage is she Huon i«ami of
12 of]' 'Syr,' quod Gerard, 'she is dough ter to duke3
Gybouars of Cecyle, who is a great lorde, and 4 hath
great londes & sygnoryes.M ' Brother/ quod Huon, ' I
am sory that ye haue taken suche alyaunce / for I know »od deplores that
he hit s father-in*
16 hym for the moost tray tor that can be founde, &6 moost uw who is *
vntrewest' 4 Syr/ quod Gerarde, ' ye do yll to say so, ******* tr*itor*
for I take hym for no suche person.9
f Howe these .ii. bretherne departyd fro the
20 abbay aboute mydnyght / & how the
traytor Gerarde began 6 to fall at rude
wordes with Huon whan they aprochyd
nere to the wood where as Gybouars lay in
24 7 a busshement.7 Ca. .lxvi.
Hus as these two bretherne deuysyd of
Gybouars, the abbot came to them & The Abbot invito
Huon and his
demaundyd of Huon yf it were his brother to sapper,
pleasure to go to supper. ' syr/ quod
Huon, c whan it please you, I & my
brother shalbe redy.' the fayre
1 about. *— 2 that ye are very. * omitted.
Signior. 6 the. 6 Fol. liiii. (prig, xlix.) back, col. 2.
7— 7 in ambush.
CHARL. ROM. VI. Q
Digitized by
226 hcon op burdeux! [Ca. Ixvl
Esclaramonde, who was wery of trauayle, was in her
chamhre apart, and dyuers other of her company with
her, where as she souppyd & lay that nyght / Huon
was sumwhat troublyd by cause his brother had taken 4
to his wyfe the doughter of a traytor / thus they
was8hyd <fe 1than sat1 down to supper, where 2 as 2 they
were rychely seruyd, & at another table sat the prouost
Guyer <fe Gerames his brother, & dyuers other barons. 8
Gerard hates Gerarde behelde y* prouost, whom he vtterly hatyd, by-
Guyer the provost
because he went causo ne went to seke for Huon / he sware to hym
Huon. selfe, that yf he myght onnes go out of the abbay,
and long* for hit that he shold be y* fyrst3 sholde lese his lyfe / 4 he 12
dyd ete & drynke but lytell for thynkynge to accom-
plyshe his yll entrepryse / whan they had suppyd,
they rose fro the borde / & theyr beddos were made
redy. Than Huon called y* abbot apart, and sayd / 16
'syr, I haue 2 in you grete trust / I haue2 brought
hether with me gret ryches. I wyl leue it here with
you to kepe tyll my retourne, & I pray you, for any
Huon (fire* his maner of thynge that may fall, delyuer it to5 no man 20
ke^ing3oflth°eth6 lyuynge, But all onely to my selfe ; and yf god gyue
Abbot. me the grace to retourne, your parte shalbe therm.'
' Syr/ quod the abbot, 4 al that ye take me to kepe
shalbe sauely kept to your behoue / & I shall do so 24
that ye shalbe content.' than 6 he went to bed, and
Gerard with hym / then7 Gerard sayd, 'brother, yf
ye thynke it good, I shall call you8 betymes / for it
semeth that to morrowe the day wyl be bote.' 1 Bro- 28
c.erard and Huon ther/ quod Huon / ' I am content/ Thus they lay
«me bed. togyther in one bed / but the traytoure Gerard had no
lyst to slepe, for tho great desyre that he had to be
reuenged of his brother, who neuer dyd hym ony 32
trespas / alas ! why dyd not Huon knowe his entente 1
if he had, the mater had not gone so to passe / at laste
1-1 sate them. *~2 omitted. 8 that 4 and.
6 vnto. 8 Fol. Iv. col. 1. 7 where. 8 vp.
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Ca. lxvi.] how huon sets forth to visit the emperor. 227
the houre cam that the cockos began to crow, then
Gerarde a-woke Huon and sayd / * brother, it were good Gerard rouses
for V8 to aryse, for anone it wyl be day. it is good to crow" at C°ck
4 ryde in the coole' / a ! 1 the yll traytoure / his thought ££31* to*
was other wyse. Whan Huon herd his brother, he Jouruey*
rose vp / and so2 euery man a rose3 & made them redy /
' syr,' quod Gerames, ' how is it that ye be so hasty to Gerames
8 departe4 hens] I praye you let me slepe a lytell «rij^de^Irtur*.
lenger' / 'syr/ qtiod Gerarde, ' that is yll sayd / for he
that hath besynes to do that toucheth hyni nere ought
not to slepe nor reste tyll6 his besynes is6 fynysshed.'
12 'By my trouthe,' quod Huon, 'my brother sayth Bat Huon judge*
trouthe, for I haue good7 desyre to speke with kyng and hit party
Charlemayne ' / than euery maw trussed8 and toke theyr Ibbot.**™ °f Ul*
horses, & the fayre Eaclaramowde was redy and mounted
16 on a9 mule, & so they all toke theyr leues of the abbot,
who was ryght sorowful that they 10departyd10 so erly /
then the gates were opened, and so departyd .xiiii. in
a company / and Esclaramond made the .xv. and
20 Gerard rode before to lede them the11 way that he wolde award leais tht
haue them to ryde / 12 Esclaramonde, 18 richely 13 aparelled, *V
rode very soberly / & she came to Huon & sayd / 4 sir,
I can not tell what me ayleth / but my herte is so sore Etciaramonde u
troubled at heart.
24 troubled that all my flesshe14 trymbleth ' / 'dame/15 quod
Huon, ' be not dysmayed nor haue no16 fere / for ye be
in a good couwtre, where, by the grace of god, ye shall
be 8*rued lyke a prynces and lady of the courctre ' /
28 and 17 with those wordes spekynge her mule stumbled Herhon*
•tumble*.
on the one fote before / so that she had nere hande a
grete falle / thew Huon aproched to her & toke the
brydle of the mule in his hande & sayd / ' fayre lady,
32 haue ye ony hurtel ' 'sir/ quod she,18 ' I had almost
1 But. 2 omitted. 3 vp. 4 from. 6 vntill.
• be. 7 great. 8 vp their things. 9 stately.
10-10 would depart. 11 right. 12 and.
13—13 being very sumptuously. 14 bodie. 16 Madame.
ia any. » Fol. lv. col. 2. 18 but
Q 2
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228
HUON OF BURDKUX.
[Ca. lxvL
fallen.' ' By my fayth,' quod Gerames, ' we haue done
1grete foly to departe or it be1 day lyght.' ' Syrs,'
quod Gerard, ' I neuer saw men so ferefull for so small
a cause.' ' Syr/ quod Gerames, * I knowe not why ye 4
Gerames begs speke it / but yf I myghte 2 be byleued, we shall2 not
Huon to return to
the abbey and wait goo one foo te further / but returne agayne to the abbey
jmtiuh.daj ^8 ^ lyght.' ' By god,' quod Gerarde, * it were
but Gerard toils grete foly to returne agayne now for the stumblynge of 8
him his fears are
idle. a mule / I neuer saw men so ferefull. let vs ryde
forth and make good chere ; I se ye day begynneth to
apere' / so they rode forth tyll4 they came to a crosse,
where as there was .iiii. wayes, this was a legge fro the 12
abbey / then Huon rested and sayd / 4 loo, here is the
when Huon border of the terrytory of ye abbey of saynt Mauris,
ero^roadThe and this one way is to Burdeux, the whiche waye I
thaUeade to*1* wyll not ryde, for so I haue promysed to kynge Charle- 16
Emperor!14 *** mayne / to whom I neuer yet falsyd my fayth. yf I
dyd it sholde be the cause that I myght lese my
seynory. & this other way goeth to Rome / and this
other way before vs is the ryght way in to Fraunce, the 20
whiche way I wyl ryde and none other ' / so they rode
forth / & al theyr company / & within a whyle they
were nere to the wode, within a bowe shot where as the
traytoure Gybouars lay in 6 a busshement6 / &6 when 24
Gerard saw his hour & tyrae to speke to7 his brother
oerard eompiaine Huow, he sayd, * brother, I se ye are in mynd to go in
that when Huon ,
ha* re-entered to fraunce to7 kynge Charlemayne to haue your landes
Kim'artf^du be & seygnoryes / the whiche I am sure ye shall haue / it 28
lea penniless, ^ ^ jonge tnat j haue ^ept it & maynteyned the
cou/itre in peace & rest and good iustyce, & haue wonne
but lytell, nor haue had but small profyte, not y*
8valew of one peny, and I am maryed to a noble lady / 32
l— 1 very ill, for that wee departed from the Abbey before.
*— * counsell yee we would. 3 omitted. 4 vntill.
*— 6 ambush men t. 6 now. 7 vnto.
8 Fol. lv. back, col. 1.
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Google
Ca. lxvii.] of Gerard's evil design.
229
doughter to a grete lorde / and it troubleth my herte
sore when ye repute hym for a tray tour / yf he knew it,
by likelyhode it myght turne you to grete foly / for
4 we byleued that ye sholde neuer haue returned / ther-
fore now I may say that I am not worth a peny / ther-
fore I wold know of you how ye wolde ayde me, and and inquires how
Huon will kid
what parte I shall haue at your returne out of Frounce/ him.
8 ' Brother/ quod Huon, ' I haue grete meruayle of this
that ye say / ye know wel that in the abbey of saynt
Maurys I haue lefte .xx. somers charged with fyne
golde / and I haue sayd to1 you that your parte shal be Huon promise*
12 therin as moch as myne / nor I shall haue no peny but he has brought
the2 one halfe is yours/ 'Brother/ quod Gerard, 'all fromtheEa?t»
this suffyseth not to me / for I wolde haue parte of y* but Gerard
seygnory to maynteyn myn estate/ When Huon thsUuick^r
16 vnderstode his brother, his blode rose in to his face / Borde*u**
for he saw wel his brother serched all that he coude to
fall at debate with hym / 8Gerames, who was sage and
wyse, parceyued anone that the mater was lyke to go
20 euyll / and sayde to 1 Huon / ' syr, graunt to Gerard Gerames adTises
your brother his demaunde. ye are bothe yonge ynough Ailed with wrath,
to conquere landes ' / ' Gerames/ quod Huon, ' I am SouTe'J'his desire,
content that he shall haue Burdeux or Gerome / let w,d Ui§ knlght
24 hym take whiche he lyst. Brother/ quod Huon,
'shewe whiche of these .ii. ye wyll haue, and I wyll
haue the other/
% Howe these traytours slewe all Huons
28 company except Gerames and Esclaramond
and Huon himselfe, the whiche all thre
were faste bounde handes and fete and
blyn felde, and so brought to1 Burdeux and
32 were set4 in pryson. Capt. .lxvii.
1 vnto. * that. 3 and. 4 put
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Google
230
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. Ixvii.
Gerard It
wrathful
Huon will not
quarrel with him,
and reproaches
the provost Quyer
with having
caused hit ruin.
Hnon and his
company reach
the wood where
Gybouara with
hi* men lies in
ambush.
Huon is
dismayed, but
attacks his
enemies manfully,
although be is
unarmed.
Twelve of his
company are
slain.
Huon ia bound,
and Gerard cuts
open Gerames'
side and takes
Hen ye fals traytoure Gerard saw &
vnderetoile his broder, how he dyd
grau?it him his desyre / & sawe how
that in no wyse he wold stryue with 4
hym, he was ther with so dyspleased
that he was nere hande in a rage / then he came to
the prouost Guyer and sayd, 'Guyer, Guyer, False
traytoure, by the & by thy purchase I am lyke to lese 8
all my seygnorye / but by ye fayth that I owe to2 him
that me created / or3 I dye I shall stryke of thy heed /
nor I shall not let to do it for ony person ' / & ther-
with, when he sawe his tyme, he cryed his worde & 12
token / and Gybouare who was in the wode with .xl.
men armed brake out with theyr speres in theyr restes ;
and when Huon parceyued them it was no meruayle
thoughe he was abasshed / then humbly he besought 16
our lorde god to saue his body fro mysfortune / 4 gladly
he wolde haue returned to the abbey / but he was so
sore oner layde that he coulde not / then he drew out
his swerde and gaue ther with ye fyrst that came suche 20
a stroke that he claue his heed to the teeth, and so fell
deed to the grounde / and Huon strake so on5 the ryght
hande and on5 the lefte / that whom so euer he strake a
full stroke neded after no surgyon / yf he had ben 24
armed he wolde not lyghtly haue ben taken without
grete losse ; but his defence coude not auayle hym /
for he and all his company were vnarmed, & all the
other .xL were clene armed, and they all fought cruelly 28
in such wyse that within a whyle .xii. of Huons men
were slayne in the place / aud none scaped alyue
excepte Huon, who was beaten downe to the erth &
his handes bounde / then Gerard the traytoure came to 32
Gerames, who was beaten downe by force / and then he
cut open his ryght syde, and toke out therof the
1 Fol lv. back. col. 2.
4 and.
2 vnto.
6 vpon.
3 before.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxvii.] how huon returns to bordeaux.
231
Admyrall Gaudys berde & .iiii. greto teth, the whiche thence the objects
i i in of Huon'a miudun
were set there by1 Oberon of the fayry / 2 Huon seynge to Babylon,
the old Gerames lyenge on the erth, he sayd with a
4 hye voyce to3 Gerarde, 'a,4 broder, I praye you shew At Huon'a
request he spares
me that curteyse as not to sle that olde gentylman, but the old man's
saue his lyfe ' / 4 brother/ quod Gerarde, 4 that he hath Ufe*
let him kepe, other hurt he shal none haue at this
8 tyme ' / then they bounde his eyen / then they came Huon'a eyea are
blindfolded,
to Esclaramonde, who lay on ye erth in a swone / they
bounde her handes & her eyen, & so set her, whether and Esclaramonde
she wolde or not, vpon a horse / & Huon, as he was hand* weubound
12 blyndfeld, he herde the cryes & wepynges that she horae.UP°na
made, then he sayd / 4 broder Gerard, I pray you for
the loue of our lorde Jesu cryst suffre none yll to be Hwm pleads for
. hie wife,
done to that good lady who is my wyfe, nor no dys-
16 honour* / 'brother/ quod ye tray tour Gerarde, 4thynke
on your selfe, & speke no more. I shal do as it please
me 9 1 the/? they set Huon & Gerames on .ii. horses / bat he and
then the fals tray tour toke ye .xii. deed bodyes and dyd Mt^ho^ee•al,0
20 cast them into the grete ryuer of Geron ; then they with her*
toke ye way to y* cyte of Burdeux, & led the thre »nd brought
. towards the city
prysoners fast bounde on5 thre horses / pyte it was to of Bordeaux,
here the noble lady Esclaramond coraplayne, & she
24 sayd to3 Huon, 4 a, syr, ye haue sayd to me that when Eaciaramonde
we were ones in your cou?*tre of Burdeux that ye wold iSe.0"* tM*
cause me to be crowned wet/* golde / but now I se
well / that in grete payne & mysery we must vse the
28 resydew of our lyues / ye haue founde here an yll
brother, syn he hath purchased for you so moche yll /
surely there is better fayth & trouth amonge the
sarazin8 then is in the people of the realme of Frauuce.'
32 4 dame/6 quod Huon, 4 your trouble more dyspleaseth
me then myne owne / god sonde to my brother Gerard7
rewarde as he hath deserued for the treason that he
1 Kinge. 2 Fol. lvi. col. 1. 3 vnto. 4 omitted.
6 vpon. 6 Madame. 7 such.
Digitized by
Google
232
PUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxviil
ha the done 1to1 vs* / thus they complayned, & wyste
They mter not why ther they were caryed / they entred in to the
dejUght, cite of Burdeux an hour before day. Alas that the
good burgesses of the cite had not2 knowyn how theyr 4
lorde Huon was so falsely 3 betrayed / yf they had
knowe/i it, he had ben rescued, and Gerard & Gybouars
hewen all to peces / but the false Gerarde brought
and through dwk them by preuy darke lanes to the palayes, for that they 8
lanes, eo that " * " * ^ J
none «haii lee shold not be parceyued / thus they cam to the castell /
them, are led to '
the paiaoe. there4 they alyghted & vnarmed them / then they toke
Huon and Esclaramonde & Gerames & put them all in
The three to a depe pryson all thre togyther / & ordeyned that 12
prisoners Are
placed in a deep they sholde haue euery day barly brede & water / &
aro^enntae commaunded the gayler to gyue them none other
thynge, and also commaunded that nother man nor
woman shold speke with them / the gayler promysed 16
so to do, for he was seruant to Gybouars ;5 such as the
mayster was so was the seruuant / thus Huon 1wasl
betrayed pyteously by his brother Gerarde & set in
pryson, & with him his wyfe Hhe fayre1 Esclaramonde, 20
& Gerames / wounded on the syde as he was. Now
we wyll leue to speke of this pyteous company durynge6
grete sorow in y* horryble pryson in the grete toure
of Burdeux 24
% How the traytours returned to the abbey
of saynt Mauris & slew the good abbot, &
toke awaye all the treasure that Huon had
lefte there, Capitulo .lxviii. 28
*-* mnttted. * but. 5 Fol. lvi. col. 2. * where.
6 and. 6 enduriDg.
Digitized by
Ca. lxviiL] how gerard slats the abbot. 233
Has as ye haue herd here before howe
Gerarde & Gybouars had put in pry-
son Huon & Esclaramonde & Gerames
in grete mysery ; & when it was day,
Gerarde & Gybouars departed out of
Burdeux, & all theyr company, & rode
agayne to y* abbey & came thyder to dyner / then Gerard and
8 Gerard sent for y* abbot to come & speke wtt/i hym / uf^Abb^y""1
when y* abbot herde how Gerard was come agayne to out! Hu°" had
y* abbey he had grete meruayle / & so came to Gerard The abbot
_ , marvels at their
& sayd, ' sir, ye be welcome. I pray you 1 what aduen- quick return.
12 ture hath brought you hyther agayne so shortly] / I
2 went ye2 had ben gone wtt/t your brother Huon ' / ' Sir,'
quod the traytour, ' after that my brother Huon was
deportyd hens / he remembred his ryche* that he left
16 wit/i you to kepe, & by cause he shal haue grete nede
therof to gyue gyftes to3 the grete prynces & lordes that
be aboute kyng Charlemayne, to ye entent that his
besynes may take y* better effect / therfore my brother Gerard says that
20 hathe sent me to3 you desyrynge you to sende his good him to fetch hi»
to3 him by me' / 'sir,' qtiod y* abbot, 'when your ******
brother Huon depa?'ted hens, trewe it was4 he left with
me his ryches to kepe, & charged me / not to delyuer bat the abbot
24 it too ony person lyuynge, but alonely to his owne ■worn to deliver
person / therfore, str, by the fayth that I owe to3 my Huon himself,
patron saynt Maurys I wyl not delyuer3 you one peny ' /
when ye traytour Gerard vnderstode that answere, he
28 sayd / ' dane abbot, thou lyest / for whyther thou wylte Gerard eayi he
. _ , will seize them in
or not I wyll haue it, & no thank e to the, & yet thou epiteofhu
shalt also repent thy wordes ' / then Gerard sodenly and he and
toke y* abbot by y* here of his5 heed / & Gybouars toke abS!*™ ^
32 him by y* one arme & dyd so stryke him with a staffe
- that he al to brused him, & then dyd cast him to the
erth so rudely that his hert brast6 in his body & so
1 Fol. lvi. back, col. 1. 3~a had thought that you.
3 vnto. 4 that 6 the. 6 burat.
Digitized by
234
The monk*
flee in fear,
but the traitors
pursue them.
Despairing of
life, the monks
implore the
robbers to show
them mercy,
and offer to give
them the gold.
Gybouars spares
their lives, and
taking the key*
from them,
seizes all the
treasure of the
church there,
besides Huon's
wealth.
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxviiL
One of the monks,
wtio is cousin to
Gybouars, is
Gerard and
Gybouars bear it
to Bordeaux.
A third of it
Gerard lays in his
chamber, but the
dyed / when ye monkes saw theyr abbot slayn they
had grete fere, & so fledde away, & the two tray tours
wt't/i theyr swerde* in there handes wente after them
with sore thretnynges ; & when ye monkes sawe how 4
they coude not escape for ye two traytours & theyr men,
they xtaryed and1 fell downe on theyr knees, 1ryght1
humbly prayenge them to haue pyte J& compassyon1
of them, & that they wolde she we them all the golde & 8
treasure that was in ye hous, to do ther with at theyr
pleasure / then y* tray tour Gybouars sayd how they2
hadde spoken welL8 when the monkes saw how they
had peace they shewed to the two traytours the place 12
where as4 the treasure was, and delyuered5 them the
keyes / so they toke away all the treasure that Huon
•had lefte there, and besyde that all the treasure of
the chyrch / crosses / sensers / chalesses / copes / and 16
candelstyckes of syluer, all they tooke & caryed awaye /3
yf and I sholde resyte all the ryches that they had
there, it shold be to longe to be rehersed. In that house
theyr was a monke who was cosyn to Gybouars, whom 20
the two traytours made abbot of that place / 7 when they
had acheuyd theyr entrepryce they departed with all
that ryches, wher with was charged .xv. strong some re /
they left not in ye abbey the valew of a floren / for 24
euery thyng that was good they toke with them / and
so rode tyll8 they came to Burdeux, 9& all9 they passed
thrugh the towne they were gretely regarded of all the
burgesses of the cyte / they10 hadde grete meruayle fro 28
whens theyr lord came with so grete ryches. These
traytours passed forth tyll8 they came to the palays, &
there they dyscharged theyr somers / then Gerard toke
the treasure that .v. of the somers dyd cary and layde 32
it in his chambre & cofere / then he ordeyned that .x.
*— 1 omitted. s the monks. 8 and.
6 to. 8 Fol. lvi. back, col. 2. 1 so.
°-9 Now as. 10 who.
4 omitted.
8 vntill.
Digitized by
Ca. Ixviii.] of Gerard's visit to Charlemagne. 235
somers shol Je be trussed forth to go to Parys, and sent re«t he rend*
them forwarde, and sayd howe he wolde folowe soone
after / then he and Gybouars dyned, & after mete they
4 mounted on1 theyr horses, and the new abbot, cosyn to with Gyboaar*
Gybouars, with them, and two squyers and a2 .vi. other follow it in iu
seruawtes, and so rode in hast to ouertake their somers Joan,ey'
with theyr tresure, and so witAin two legges they ouer-
8 toke them / & so then they all togyder rode so longe
tyll3 on a wednysday they came to Parys. they lodged
in the strete next to4 the palays in a good hostrye, &
were well serued, & so rested tyll3 on* the6 mornyng /
12 then they rose & apparelled them in fresshe arraye / & On the day after
they led with them .v. of theyr somers with ryches, & make preeente of
two of them they presented to the quene & the other iSch«toth«
thre to ye kynge, wherfore they were receyued with toU*ei^gand
16 grete ioye / then after they gaue grete gyftes to euery lord* of 11,0
7lorde in the courte / & specyally to y6 offycers, wher-
fore they were gretely praysed. But who so euer toke
ony gyfte, duke Naymes wolde take neuer a peny / for The DakjrtU ^
20 he thought8 al that rychys was not wel go ten, & that no gift,
they dyd it for some crafte, therby to attayne to some*
fals dam pn able enterpryce / this duke was a noble,
wyse knyght10 and a trew, and of good counsell /9
24 he11 well parceyued theyr malys. Then the kynge
commaunded the thre cofers to be12 set in his chambre,
& wolde not loke in13 them tyl3 he hadde spoken with
Gerarde / whom he caused to sytte downe by hym / &
28 Gybouars in lyke wyse,14 and15 the newe abbot / for it
is lea sayenge16 that they that gyue are euer17 welcome.
1 Gerard/ quod 18 CHarlemayne, ' ye be welcome / Charlemagne
giree them a
I praye you shewo me the cause of youre comynge.' warm welcome.
32 * Syr/ quod Gerard, 4 1 shall shewe you / syr,5 the grete
1 vppon. 3 about. 8 vntil). 4 vnto. 6 omitted.
6 next » Fol. lvii. col. 1. 8 that 9 and.
10 knight after trew. 11 very. 12 brought and.
13 into. 14 manner. u also.
16-ie an 0i(j saying & a trew. 17 alwaies. 18 king.
Digitized by
236
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxi^
Ger»rd dacUrw besynes that I haue to do with xyou and with1 your
h« bring*
important lordes / hathe caused me to gyue these large gyfies
tidings.
that I haue gyuen2 you & other, and, syr, I am sorow-
ful at my hert for that3 I must shewe you / and I had 4
rather he beyonde the see then to shew you that thynge
that I must neddes doo / for to hyde it / it4 can not
auayle me / yet I neuer shewed5 thynge in all my lyfe
with so yll a wyll-/ for I shall be blamed of many 8
persones / how be it, I loue better to defende myn
honour then I loue all the worlde besyde.' ' Gerard,'
quod the kyng, * ye say trouth / for better it is to 6hew
the trouthe then to be estyll, syn the mater6 toucheth 12
your honoured
% How the traytoure Gerarde shewed to
kynge Charlemayne how Huon his brother
was retourned too Burdeux without doynge 16
of his message to the admyrall Gaudys.
Capitulo .lxix.
yr,' quod Gerarde, 'true it is4 ye haue
made me knyght, & besyde that I 20
am your lyege mar/, wherfore I am
bounde to kepe your honoure to my
power / for I am certayne I shall
shewe you suche newes that all that 24
Oemrd nys hu be in your court wyll be sorowfull, 8 and also8 my selfe.'
'Gerard/ quod Charles, ' come to y* poynt, and vse no
more such langage nor suche serymonyes / by that I se
in you it is but yll9 that ye wyll saye.' ' Syr/ quod 28
he, ' But late as I was in my house at Burdeux, and
with me dyuers lordes and knyghtes / as we were
deuysynge togyther, I sawe my brother Huon entre in
1-1 your Majestie and. 1 to. 8 which. 4 that
6 any. 6-6 silent in so great a matter which so much.
7 Fol. lvii. col. 2. 9 much more. • euill.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. Ixix.] HOW GERARD TELLS A LYING 8TORT. 237
to my house, and thre with hym : the one was a yonge He telle him how
of lute he liHd
damesell, and the other an olde man called Gerames.' Men Huon with
When duke Naymes of Bauyer herde Gerard, he hadde damsel enter hie
4 grete mernayle when that1 he sayd that Gerames was Bordeaux,
one of them / and sayd, * a, very2 god, I here that3 with
grete payne I can byleue it1 / for yf it be the same The Duke
Gerames that I thynke it be, he and I were companyons member* Geramea
8 togy ther at a tornay holden at Chalons in champayne, companion or hit.
4 where as1 he slewe by mysaduenture y* erle Salamon.'
' Syr/ quod Gerarde, 1 1 shall shewe you as I haue
begon / trewe it is when I sawe my brother Huon I
12 was gretely abasshed / how be it, I dyd hym honour Gerard nj% that
and made hym good chere, and made hym and all his brother kindly,
company to dyne / then after dyner I reasoned with
my brother, and demaunded of hym yf he had ben at
16 the holy sepulture of oure lorde god / and5 when he
sawe that I demaunded that of hym, he was sore
abasshed, so that he wyst not what to answere, and
then I parceyued by his wordes that he had not ben bat he percetred
20 there / and then, syr, after I demaunded of hym yf he fulfilled the
nad furnysshed your message to y* ad my rail Gaudys / nSiSton'and he
but he coulde gyue me none answere nor saye ony
wordes that I coulde byleue / & when I sawe that I
24 coulde fynde no trouthe in none6 of his wordes, I toke
hym and haue set hym in pryson, how be it / it was had therefor*
full sore agaynst my wyll / but I consyder in my selfe prieon,
that I muste owe to7 your grace fay the and fidelite,
28 and that I am your man / and that for no man lyuyng,
though he were neuer so nere of my kyn, yet I wolde
not be founde with ony treason. And therfore, syr,
my brother and1 his wyfe and his companion I haue together with hie
J wife and hia old
32 retayned them in my pryson. Therfore,8 syr, it is in friend,
you to doo here in what it shall please you best.'
When all the prynces and lordes that were there vnder-
1 omitted. 1 deere. 8 which. 4 Fol 1 vii. back, col. 1.
6 but 6 any. 7 vnto. 8 wherefore.
Digitized by
238
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca, hex.
stode the wordes of Gerarde, and that he had taken his
brother Huon and set1 hym in pryson, there were none
The ocmitiert Dut that was2 sorye therof, and many for the loue that
deplore that " "
Huon should be they 3hadde of 3 Huon began to wepe / and demaunded 4
now In prison.
of Gerarde who hadde done that dede / sayenge, ' suiely
it is done by some maner of treason.1
% 4 Howe the kynge coinmaunded that Huon
sholde be sent for fro Burdeux, to the 8
entente that he sholde dye.
Ca. lxxx = lxx.
All the Emperor's
hatred of Huon
is roused anew by
Gerard's story,
and he threatens
to slay his
sureties unless
the knight is
surrendered to
him straightway.
Pnke Naymes
suspects the truth
of Gerard's tale.
Hen the Emperoure Charlemayne vnrier-
stude Gerarde, he rose5 on his feete 12
sore troubled and full of yre / for by
Gerardes wordes the auncyent hate
A lyspleasure that the kynge hadde to
Huon for y* deth of Chariot his sone was renewed in 16
his hert, and sayd openly, that euery man myght here
hym / 'lordes that be here present, before you al I
somon them thnt were pledges for Huon in such wyse
that yf the traytour Huon be not rendred in to my 20
handes to do with hym my pleasure, I shal cause them
to be hanged and drawen / and there is no man in my
courte that he be so hardy6 to speke or desyre the
contrary / but I shall cause hym to dye a shamefull 24
dethe 9 / and when he had thus sayde he satte hym
downe agayne, and called duke Naymes to hym, &
sayde, 4 syr duke / ye haue herde what Gerarde hathe
sayde of his brother Huon/ ' Syr,' quod the duke, ' I 28
haue well herd hym / but I byleue the mater be other
wyse then he hath sayd / for there is no mm wyll saye
the contrary but that all that Gerarde hathe sayd is
1 had put. 2 were. *— 3 bare to.
* Fol. Ivii. back, col. 2. * vp. 8 as.
Digitized by
Ca. 1XX.] HOW DUKE NAYMES DENOUNCED GERARD.
239
done by fals treason / ye shall fynde it so yf the mater
be wysely enquyred of.' ' Syr/ quod Gerarde, ' ye saye
as it please you, but I take god to wytnesse, and my
4 father in lawe Gybouars, and this good, notable, relygious
abbot and his chapleyne, that all that I haue sayde is
trewe / for I wolde not for any thynge saye *but that is1
iust and trewe ' / then Gybouars and the abbot and2 his Bat Gybouars
8 chapleyn answered & sayde how it was trewe that Gerard bu
Gerarde had sayde. 8 ' by my fay th/ qwod4 duke Naymes, ,poken Uie trutb'
'all ye foure are as2 fals lyers & theues, & the kyng is Duke Naymes is
J J not, however, the
yll couwseyled yf he byleue you.' 'Naymes/ quod y* more convinced,
12 kyng, 'I pray you how semeth it to5 you this mater
by twene these4 two bretherne ? ' ' Syr/ quod ye duke,
' it is a grete mater / he that is here before you is the *nd shows the
Emperor how
accuser of his broder, & hath set him in pryson, and unnatural and
16 now he is come and accuseth hym here before you conduct \» on his
bycause he knoweth wel he can not come hyder to °wn "howillg'
defende hymselfe / I shold do a grete yll6 dede yf I
had a broder that were banysshed out of Fraunce, and
10 yf he came to me for refuge, & I then to take hym and
set him fast in pryson in myn owne house, & then
after to go and complayne vpon hym, to the entent
to purchase his deth. I saye there was neuer noble
24 man wolde thynke so to do, and they that hath done
thus are all fals traytours. all noble men ought not
to byleue ony suche, and specyally he that wyll pur-
chase such a dede agaynst his owne brother / I knowe
28 well all that they haue ymagyned & doone is by fals
treason / therfore I say accordynge to the ryght, that
all foure are fals tray toures, & I iuge for my parte that He denounce*
. , . _ , . Gerard as a false
they are worthy to receyue a velaynous dethe / for traitor.
32 they are foure false wytnesses/ When Gerarde herde
duke Naymes, he chaunged coloure and waxed as whyte Gerard turns pale
as snowe, repentynge in hi?7i selfe the dede that he had
i-1 which is not 8 omitted. 3 Fol. lviii. ool. 1.
4 the. 6 vnto. • euill.
Digitized by
Google
240
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxx.
and the Duke
with having
■ought to become
a peer of France.
Haon's enreties
are called before
the Emperor,
and are ordered
to deliver up
Huon on pain of
their live*.
The Duke urgee
the Emperor to
eend for Huon
from Bordeaux,
and the adviee is
accepted.
done to his broder / he cursed to hymselfe Gybouars
in that he byleued his counsell / then1 he answered
duke Naymes and sayd, 'A, sir, ye do me greate
wronge2 to owe me youre yll wyll.' ' Gerarde ' / quod 4
the duke, 1 it is for the ylnesse that is in you / ye that
wolde be one of the peers of Fraunce. Certaynely of
suche a counseller as ye be the kynge hathe lytell nede
o£* I had rather a4 lost one of my handes then I 8
sholde6 haue consented therto.' ' Duke Naymes/ quod
the kynge, ' I wyll ye cause to come before me all suche
as 6 were pledges for Huon at his departynge.' Then
the duke caused them to appere before the kynges 12
presence / of whome there were dyuers dukes and erles.
Then kyng Charlemayn sayd / ' syrs, ye know well ye
be pledges for Huon of Burdeux, and you knowe the
payne that I layde on your hedos yf Huon dyd not 16
accowplysshe my message that I gaue hym in charge /
the which he hath not fulfylled. wherfore, without
ye deliuer Huon in to my handes ye shal not scape, but
that ye shall all dye.' 1 Syr/ quod duke Naymes, ' for 20
goddes sake I requyre you beleue me at this tyme / I
counsel you to take a good nombre of youre notable
men and sende them to Burdeux, and let them take
Huon out of prysow and brynge hym to you, and here 24
what he7 wyll saye / and yf it be trewe that Gerarde
hath sayd, yet8 I desyre you too haue9 pyte on hym /
but I byleue surely ye shall fynde the mater other wyse
then Gerarde his brother hath sayd.' ' Naymes,' quod 28
the kyng, 'your sayenge is reasonable. I accorde
therto. I wyll he be sente for.'
% Howe the Emperoure Charlemayn went
hymselfe to Burdeux to cause Huon to be 32
1 yet. * ill. 8 omitted. 4 haue. * once.
6 Fol. lviii. col. 2. ' himself. * then. 9 no.
Digitized by
Ca, lxxxL] OF the emperor's journey to bordeaux. 241
slayne for the grete yll wyll that he bare to
hym. Capitulo .lxxxi.
E haue herd here before how the good
duke Naymes dyde so moch that kyng
Charlemayn was content to sende for
Huon, but the kynge was so1 sore dys- But Charlemagne
pleased with hym that he wolde not to punish him,
8 abyde so longe as to sende for hym, but he made hym LrisitBorieaux
selfe redy to go thyther him self e 8 with all his trayne, hhDaeUt
and commaunded that the pledge* shold be set in
pryson tyll his returne; but y* good duke Naymes and Duke Naym«
12 became pledge 8 for them all to be forth comynge, and hoidSrawif0
800 they went not to pryson / the kynge made hym £2iea?rt,,§
redy and toke with him twelue of his peeres, & so toke The Emperor sets
the waye towardes Burdeux / god ayde Huon, for he peers.
16 was4 in peryll of his lyfe yf god haue no6 pyte on him /
thus, as I haue shewed you, kyng Charlemayn nobly
accompanyed rode so longe by his iourneyes that he
came wiViin the syght of Burdeux / 6 when he aproched
20 nere to y* cyte Gerarde came to y# kynge, and sayd /
' 8tr, yf it please you I wolde gladly ryde before you in o««rd rides with
him and offers to
to the cyte to ordeyn to receyue you accordyngly. advance to
' Gerarde,' quod the kynge, * it is no nede that ye goo ieoeptiontbut*
24 before to prepare for my comynge, there be other that htol2vw!u»bida
shal go before / ye shal not go tyll I go myselfe' / Wm*
when duke Naymes her4 the kynges answers he sayd
to the kynge / ' Syr, ye haue answered lyke a noble
28 prynce, blyssed be he that counselled you so to saye ' /
thus the kynge rode forth without gyuyng ony know-
lege of his cominge / and so entred in to the cyte
of Burdeux and rode to the palays, & there alyghted / The Emperor
32 then the1 dyner was made redy / 6 the kyng sate downe
and duke Naymes by hym, & at other bourdes other
1 omitted. * in person. 3 Fol. Iviii. back, col. 1.
4 now. 6 not. fl and.
CHARL. ROM. VI. R
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242
HUON OP BUR DEUX.
[Ca. lxxxi
Hnon in his
prison learns from
the gaoler of
Charlemagne's
The town of
Bordeaux Is
greatly excited
by the visit of
the Emperor,
who makes good
cheer in the
Duke Naymes
grows angry at
Charlemagne's
merriment,
who, having come
to judge one of
his peers, sits
drinking wine
and banqueting.
lordes and knyghtes, and there they were rychely
serued ; grete brute was made in the palayes, so that
Huon, beynge in pryson, had grete nieruayle of the
noyse tliat he herde, and demaunded of y* gayler what 4
noyse it was that he herde aboue in the palays / the
gayler answered fyersly1 with grete pryde and dyspyte,
and sayd, ' it nede not you to demaunde / for ye are
lyke to knowe it to soone / but syn ye wolde knowe it, 8
1 shall shewe you y* trouthe / it is kynge Charlemayne
and all his barons, who are come hyther for1 to iuge
you to be hanged.' 1 Go thy way, fals traytoure/ quod
Huon / 'canst thou not shewe to me none other 12
tydynges but that 1 ' Thus Huon answered the gayler /
2 there was as grete brute in the cyte as was1 in the
palays 8 with lodgynge of the kynges men. The comons
and burgesses of ye cyte of Burdeux hadde full grete 16
meruayle why the kynge came thyder at that tyme so
sodeynely / 2 the kynge syttyng at the table made good
chere / but duke Naymes who satte by hym began to
wepe, and coude nother ete nor drinke ; he rose vp then 20
sodeynly / so rudely that he ouerthrewe cuppes, and
dysshes upon the table. ' Naymes/ quod the kyng, ' ye
haue done yll thus to do.' • Syr/ quod the1 duke Naymes,
1 1 haue good cause thus to doo, and I haue wonders 24
grete meruayle that I se you so dotyd. I am in suche
sorowe ther by that I am nere hande out of my wyttes.
howe is it that ye be come in to the cyte of Burdeux for
to ete and to drynke, and too take youre ease 1 ye nede 28
not to haue gone out of Fraunce for that / for ye hadde
mete and also good wynes suffycyent at home in youre
owne house. A, ryghte noble and worthy Emperoure,
what thynke4 you too do 1 / it is no small mater to iuge 32
to deth one of your twelue peers / and it is not possyble
to gyue ony trewe Iugemente when you and we are full
1 omitted.
* and. 8 Fol. Mil. back, col. 2.
4 meane.
Digitized by
Ca. lxxxi.] OP THE MEETING OP HUON AND THE EMPEROR. 243
of wyne and spyces. But, syr,' sayd the duke, ' by the
lord that me fourmed, that who so euer this daye doth
ete or drynke wyne / as longe as the lyfe is in my
4 body I shall neuer loue him.' ' Naymes/ quod the
kynge, 'I am contente with your wyll/ Then the
kynge commaunded that the tables sholde be avoyded /
and commaunded incontynent Huon to be taken out of The Emperor
_ orders Huon to be
8 pryson and brought before hym / they that had brought before
commyssyon to do it wente to the pryson / and theyr
they toke out Huon and his wyfe Esclaramonde and yel
olde Gerames;2 they were all thre brought before the and he with
mi , ,_ Esclaramonde and
12 kyng and his barons. xwhen they came1 / Huon sawe Gerames comes
where the kyng Charlemayn sate amonge all his lordes / ° pre*en°**
2 they 8 arose when they sawe Huon and his company,
pale & yll coloured by 4 reason of ye yll5 prison that his
16 brother had put them in / cEsclaramond was gretly
regarded, & the olde Gerames6 / when the pledges sawe
Huon before the kynge, they sayd / ' syr, now ye may At the tight of
so Huon, for whom we be pledges / we trust now to be
20 quyt & dyscharged ; it lyeth now in you to do with
him at your pleasure ' / * syrs/ quod the kyng, • I hold the king die-
~~ charges his
you quyt; ye may go fro hens forth where 7 ye lyst7 / sureties,
for Huon can not now scape our handes ' / then Huon
24 kneled downe before the kyng right humbly / 2 when
duke Naymes sawe hym, the droppes fell 8out of 8 his
eyen, and sayde to the kyng, 'Syr, I requyre you
gyue Huon audyence, and here what he wyl say 9 / ' I
28 am content,' quod the kynge ; ' let hym say what he and bids him
" speak.
wyll ' / then Huon, knelyng on his knees, sayd, ' Syr,
in the honoure of our lorde Jesu eryste I9 crye you1
mercy to god, and to you, and to all your barons.
32 I complayne me of the fals traytour that I se there,
i-i omitted. 2 and. 8 all. * Fol. lix. col. 1.
8 noysome.
and Eaclaramond k old Gerames were greatly re-
garded and,
T— 7 you please. 8-8 from. 9 first.
R 2
Digitized by
Google
244
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxi.
Huon
brother of
treachery.
hii
The lords of the
court pity Huon,
who looks pal*
and thin.
Huon proceed! to
tell Charlemagne
all his adventures
at Babylon,
how Oberon
protected him;
who was my brother, yf ther had hen other fayth or
trouth in hym / but I beleue in al the world can not be
founde so cruell & fals a traytour / for Cayme that slew
Abel his broder / was neuer so fals nor so cruell ' / 4
when all the lordes herd Huon, they all began to wepe,
sayenge eche to other, ' a, good lord, where is the beaute
be come that was wonte to be in Huon 1 we haue sene
hym so fayre that none1 coulde passe hym in beaute / 8
and nowe we se hym pale and lene and yll coloured ; it
appereth well he hathe not ben all wayes in the ladyes
chambres / nor amonge damselles to sporte and to
playe* him* / thus they deuysed of him, and toke no 12
hede of Gerarde, who was by them. Then Huon spake
agayne, and sayd to the kynge, « Syr, trewe it is, the
message that ye gaue me in charge too doo to8 the
Admyrall Gaudy s, I haue done it 4 at length,4 as ye 16
haue commaunded 6 me / and I haue passed the see and
came to3 Baby lone to the Admyrall Gaudys / and ther
I requyred of hym in the presence of all his lordes to
haue his berde and .iiii. grete teth. But when he had 20
herde my demaunde he helde it for a grete folye, & so
incontynente he caste me in pryson, where as I had
dyed 6 for rage of 8 famine / and7 the Admyralles dough-
ter hadde, not ben whom ye maye se yonder syttynge 24
by the pyller / and also by the ayde of the good kynge
Oberon / whom I ought gretely to loue / he is a kynge
of the fayry ryght pusant / and is in the cyte of
Mommure / and he, knowynge of the peryll that I was 28
in, had pyte of me / and 8soo he8 came and socoured
me in suche wyse, & with so grete a pusaunce / that in
Babylone he slewe all suche as wolde not byleue in
our lorde Jesu cryste. Then he toke me out of pryson / 32
and so9 we entred in to the palays, and there we slewe
1 no one. * with. s vnto.
*-* to the verie vttermosi 6 Fol. lix. col. 2.
* if. »-« omitted. 9 then.
by.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxxxi.J op huon's piteous speech.
all suche as we founde there. Then I wente to the
Admyral Gaudys and strake of his heed / and then I how Gaudiiee m
cut of his berde and opened his mouthe / and drewe
4 out foure of his grete teth / 1 when I hadde theym / then
I desyred kynge Oberon to ayde me to fynde the
meanes that I myght brynge surely the berde and teth
to your presence / and to she we me where as2 I myghte
8 beste kepe them. Then the good kynge Oberon, by
the grace of oure lorde god and by the puysaunce that
god hadde gyuen vnto hym, he closed theym within
the syde of Gerames / soo that they coulde not be
12 perceyued. 1Syr, knowe for trouthe ye neuer horde
spekynge2 of suche a man / and8 when that2 I sawe
that I hadde furnysshed your message, I retourned and
toke with me the fayre lady Esclaramonde, doughter to
16 the fore sayde Admyrall Gaudys / and the twelue
gentylmen that went with me out of Fraunce / who all
wayes hath ben with me. And, syr, yf I sholde shewe
you the gret paynes and pouertes that I & they haue
20 suffred, it sholde be to longe to 4reherse/but I may well
saye, &6 the grace of god had not ben I had neuer
come hyther agayne ; yf I had -had ,x. lyues I coude
6 not a 6 scaped the deth. &7 after all these paynes &
24 trauayles that I and they that were with me suffred, by
the grace of god we came & aryued at Rome, where as
•the holy father8 y* pope receyued me with grete ioye,
& ther wedded me to Esclaramonde, the Admyralles how at Rome he
28 doughter, whom ye maye se yonder all desolate and Admiral's fair
full of dyspleasures, & not without cause ' / whew the daught6r#
barons that were there herd the py teous complayntes au who hear the
of Huow, euery man of pite behelde yc lady, who, pale {^weep.1*1* b*gln
32 & yll coloured, sate sore wepynge / so that such as
regarded her were constrayned to take parte of her
sorowe / there was no man but they began sore to
1 and. 2 omitted. 3 Now. 4 Fol. lix. back, col. 1.
6 j£ «-« Deuer haue. 7 Next. 8— 8 omitted.
246
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxi.
wepe / & Huon, who was before the kynge, was
sorowfull to se his wyfe make so grete doloure. Then
Huon assert* that he sayd *a hye to1 the kynge / ' syr, yf ye wyll not by-
truth, leue my sayeng, sende to Rome to y* pope to knowe the 4
trouthe / yf ye proue my wordes contrary I submit my
selfe to receyue suche dethe that2 ye & youre barons can
deuyse, yf the pope do not here wytnesse of that I
haue sayd / god forbed that I sholde shew you ony 8
thyng other wyse then trouth / I haue sayd nothynge
but he shal shew tokens that my sayenge is trewe / and
I can saye more yf I wolde shewe all / but it is not
nedefull that I sholde make a longe sermonde. But, 12
syr, thus as T haue shewed you I dyd retourne fro the
place that ye sent me vnto8 / and, syr, knowe for trouth
I cam not so vnprouyded / but that I broughte with me
grete plente of golde & syluer / and my company came 16
hole4 with me, and I 6 was in purpose6 not to reste in
ony place tyll I hadde spoken with youre grace / for the
and tent of hto grete desyre that I had to se you / and so longe6 I rode
fortunes sinos ho
arrived in Franca, tyll I came too an abbey here7 by a foure legges hense, 20
called Saynt 8Maurys, because the abbey is9 of youre
foundacyon, and not partaynynge to the lande of
Burdeux / for I wolde not haue entred in to this
towne bycause of the commaundement that ye gaue 24
me / thus I came & lodged me in the abbey / and
the abbot receyued me with grete ioye / and he sent
worde of my beynge there to my brother Gerarde / and
the traytoure came too me lyke a false traytoure / & 28
brought with hym but one squyer / wherby now I
maye perceyue that in hym was nothynge but falsenesse
and treason' / 'Huon/ quod Duke Naymes, 'your
reason is good, for yf he had ben trewe as he ought to 32
haue ben / he ought to assemble the barons and lordes
M unto. 2 as. 3 to. 4 all. *-* purposed.
• along. 7 hard. 8 Fol. lix. back, col. 2.
• was.
Digitized by
Ca. lxxxi.] of Gerard's evil plot.
247'
of the countre, & so to haue come with them to1 haue
receyued you with reuerence and honoured ' Syr/ quod
Huon, ' it is trewe / but the traytoure dyd other wyse /
4 for when he was come to me. by grate subtylte he Huon recount*
Gerard's evil plot.
demaunded how I had sped in my iourney, and
whyther I hadde spoken with the Admyrall Gaudys or
not, and declared to hiwi your message, and yf I had
8 broughte with me his berde and foure grete teeth ; and
I shewed hym I hadde accomplysshed your hole com-
maundement / then the vnhappy traytoure demaunded
where I kept them, and I shewed hym, for I had no
12 mystruste in hym / then he soo exorted me that at the
houre of mydnyghte he made me to aryse hastely, and
made me and al my company redy, and so lepte on
oure horses and rode forth oure waye ; and when we
16 came too a crosse way, and sawe that I toke the way
into Fraunce, he began to speke rygoryously to haue
occacyon of some stryfe betwene vs; and nere therto
there was a lytell wode, where as there laye in a
20 busshement Gybouars, and in his company ,lx. men of
armes clene2 armed / & they came & ran at me ; my &8
company4 were vnarmed, 6wherby they founde in vs
but small resytence / and so fynally the .xii. ientylmen
24 that were with me were all slayne & all to hewen, &
then they toke theyr deed bodyes & dyde cast them in
to the ryuer of Gerounde / then they strake me to the
erth, & bounde fast my fete and handes and blynd felde
28 myn eyen, and in lyke wyse they dyd to my wyfe / and
then they came to Gerames / & the traytoure my
brother came to hym, and with a sharpe knyfe opened
his syde / and there he toke out the berde / and .iiii.
32 gret teth of the Admyralles Gaudys / the whiche were
set there by kynge Oberon ; the false traytour knewe
y* place where as they lay by reason that I had shewed
1 and. * well. 5 and my. 4 that
* Fol. lx. col. 1.
Digitized by
Google
248
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxi.
Geramee ihowa
the wound that
Gerard made In
hie tide.
Haon challenges
Gerard and
Gybouan to
mortal combat.
Gerard denies the
truth of Haon's
•lory.
him therof before / wolde to god tliat y* same tyme
that he cam to Gerames to do that cruel dede that
Gerames had ben armed / I am sure then the false1
traytoure durst not a2 regarded him to haue done hym 4
any3 euyll / but, syr, when he had taken out ye berde
and teth / then he bounde Gerames handes and fete,
hurte as he was / as, syr, ye may knowe the trouthe by
hym ' / then Gerames stept forth & lyfte vp his cloke, 8
& shewed y6 kyng ye wounde in hys syde, ye which
euery man myght se8 was there / 's/r,' quod Huon to
the kynge / ' when he had done all this / he set vs on
iiL lene horses, & so brought vs in to this towne, 12
bounde handes and fete, and then set vs in a depe
pryson / & so hath kept vs hyder vnto4 with brede and
water / and5 hath taken fro vs all the ryches that
we brought vriih vs / and, sir, yf lie be so hardy to say 16
the contrary, that it is not true that I haue sayd / let
hym & Gybouars, lyke traytoura as they be, arme
them,* and I shall fyght agaynst them bothe / and yf I
may7 conquer them bothe, wherof I haue no doute with 20
the ayde of our lord god / then let them haue as they
haue deserued / & yf I can not ouer come them nor to1
make them to shewe the trouthe / I wyll that then
incontynente ye 8 cause me to be draw en & hanged.' 24
' By my fayth,' qnod duke Naymes, 4 syr / Huon can
saye nor offre no more / for he offereth to prone y*
contrary of that Gerarde hath sayd* / 'syr/ quod
Gerard, ' my brother sayth at his pleasure, bycause he 28
knoweth well that I will not stryue agaynst hym /
bycause he is myne elder brother / let the kynge do as
it shall please hym / as for me, I neuer consented to do
so cruell a dede as he layeth to my charge.' ' A, good 32
lorde,' quod duke Naymes / * howe the fals traytour can
cloke & couer his ylnes ! ' 4 Huon,' quod Charlemayn,
1 omitted. * haue. 3 that. 4 hetherto. 6 bo.
6 selues. 7 can. 8 Fol. lx. col. 2.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxxxi.] HOW the emperor's wrath is unappeased.
249
' I can not tell what ye haue done / but I wyli ye
shewe me the berde and .iiii. grete teeth of the
Admyrall Gaudys' / 'syr,' quod Huon, 'I crye you
4 mercy, I haue shewed you howe they be taken fro me
by the false traytoure my brother Gerarde ' / ' Huon,'
quod the kyug, ' ye knowe wel at your departure out Charlemagne in
of Fraunce I defended1 you on2 payn of your lyfe, that of the beard °"i
8 yf by aduen[tu]re ye returned agayne in to Fraunce, that *nd tMh*
ye sholde not be so hardy8 to enter in to this cyte of
Burdeux tyl4 ye had spoken with me fyrst, & to kepe
me promis ye deliuered5 me hostages, ye which I haue
12 quyt syn6 I haue you in my handes. it lyeth now in me
other to hange you or to drawe you / or to gyue too7
you ony other iugemente / for at youre departure ye
were agreed that I shold so do / but by y' fayth that I
16 owe to7 saynt Denys, or8 it be nyght I shall cause the threatens to slay
to be hanged and drawen, and that shall I not let so to
do for ony man lyuynge / for now I take you in youre
owne house.' * Syr/ quod Huon, ' god forbed that a
20 kynge of Fraunce sholde do so grete a cruelte. Syr,9 I
crye you mercy / for goddes sake doo not to me so Huon begs for
grete an outrage / for, syr,10 ye maye knowe ryght well m6KT*
that parforce I was broughte hyther. And therfore,
24 syr11 kynge, I requyre you let me haue ryghtfull and
trewe iugement.' 'By my fayth, Huow,' qiwd duke
Naymes, 12 ' it is but a small request that ye make / for Naymes nupporu
your ryght is so clere that yf reason maye be shewed to appea,»
28 you, there is no man can say the contrary / but that
your landes oughte to be rendred to7 you franke and fre,
& your brother Gerarde to be hanged and strangled ' /
then the duke sayde to the kynge / ' syr,9 I requyre you
32 haue pyte of Huon, and doo nothynge to hym but
ryght / and, sir,10 ye shall do grete synne without
1 charged. 2 vppon. 3 as. * vntill. 6 to.
6 seeing. 7 vuto. 8 before. 9 my Lord.
10 omitted. 11 great 12 Fol. lx. back, col. I.
250
HUON OP BURDEUX,
[Ca, lxxxL
ye do hym ryght ' / ' Naymes/ quod the kynge, 1 you
knowe well it is in me to cause Huon to dye / but
and the king syn1 that he is one of my peers I wyll ordre hym by
promises him a
trial. iugenient.' When the lordes and other knyghtes herde 4
the kynge saye so they were ryght ioyful / for then
they byleued that the kyng sholdo2 haue pyte of Huon /
but who so euer was ioyful / yet duke Naymes was not
Nnymee protetta cowtente, and sayde to the kynge / ' syr,8 by that I se 8
against the
Emperor's and here ye here Huon but small loue, seynge that ye
Huon. wyll put hym to iugement, consyderyng his dedes and
saynges to be true ; and namely, where as he offereth
to proue it by the holy father the pope* / then Huon 12
withdrewe backe & lened hym to a pyller therby.
Then the kyng called to4 hym all his peeres and lordes,
The king bids his & sayd, ' syrs, I requyre you, by the fayth and trouthe
an impartial trial, and homage that ye bere to4 me / tJiat for me nor for 16
myne amyte that ye ayde not Huon agaynst me / nor
say5 nor do no falshode / but the moost ryghtfull
iugement that ye can make do / 1 charge you gyue trew
iugement without ony fauoure or parsealyto ' / When 20
the lordes herde the kynge saye so to4 them, and that he
coniured them so sore to do ryght / and iustyce / well
they perceyued that the kynge had grete hate to4 Huon /
and that ye deth of his sone Chariot was not forgo ten 24
out of his mynde / then they all togyther drewe a
parte in to a chambre ryght penseue and mornynge /
then6 they satte downe on benches and beheld eche
other without 7spekynge of ony worde a longe space / 28
when duke Naymes sawe that, he rose vpon his fete and
Naymes entreats sayd / ' syrs, ye haue herde how the kynge hath charged
tite king's hatred vs to saye the trouthe ; we may parceyue well by hym
judgment. that he bereth grete hate to4 Huon, who is one of our 32
companyon8 / and therfore, syrs, I requyre you that euery
man by hym selfe wyll saye his aduyse as he thynketh.'
1 seeing. 2 would. 3 my Lord. 4 vnto. 6 lay.
6 and. 7 Fol. lx. back, col. 2.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxxxi a.]
OF THE COUNSEL OF THE PEERS.
251
How the .xii. peers drewe to coiwseyle to
gyue sentence vpon Huon, other with hym
or agaynst hym. Capitulo .lxxxi.
4
8
of Ganelon ; he1 was one of the peers
of frauwce / then he sayd / 'syrs, as
for me, I say, seynge the case as it is,
that Huon by ryght lugement ought addresses the
-in., , onu peers in farour of
to be hanged & drawera, for as ye know 2 well the Huon's death,
kynge hath fou?ide hym in the cyte of Burdeux / ther-
12 fore I say that the kynge may, without doynge any
synne, put hym to deth / and, syre, yf ye thynke that
I haue sayd good reason / agree ye than to y* same,
and lette Gerarde his brother be lorde and mayster of
16 all the londys and sygnyoryes that sholde partayne to3
Huon / I consent & wyll, as myche as toucheth my
parte, that Gerarde be one of the peeres of Fraunce in
y6 place of Huon his brother ' / 4 whan Gaulter had endyd
20 his reason, Harry6 of seynt Omers spake, and sayd,
'Syr Gaulter, goo & syt downe / your wordes can
bere none effect, for they be of no valure. But,
syrs,' quod he, 'shortly to speke and ryghtwysly to
24 iuge, I say that it is reason that Huon be restoryd to
all his londes, for his dede is well proued, & by good Harry of saint
Omen declares
wytnes, as our holy father the pope / for we may beleue that Huon is
guiltless,
surely that Gerarde his brother, that thus hath betrayed
28 hym, hath done it by false couetys6 / therfore I say
and iuee that Gerarde be drawen at horse taylles, and and that Gerard
° deserrestobe
than hangyd tyll7 he be deed.' Than he sayd no more / drawn at horses'
tails.
but sat downe agayne.
1 who. * Fol. lxi. col. 1. 8 vnto. * and.
6 Henry. 6 couetousness.
* yntill.
252
huon of bubdeux, [Ca. lxxxii.
The Earl of
Flanders urges
that the two
brothers should
be reconciled to
and the king
should be prayed
to spare both
their Uvea.
The Earl of
Chalons propose*
that the peers
•hall follow the
advice of Duke
Naymea.
Han Harry1 of seiwt Omers had sayd his
reason / y* erle of Flaunders rose vp,
and sayd to Harry,1 ' all that ye haue
sayd I wyll not consent therto / but I 4
shall shewe you myne aduyse what
ought to be done. Syrs, ye al know well the worlde,
the which as now is lytell worth, for now a dayes can
not be founde* trew frendes as were wont to be ; ye 8
may well se by these two bretherne / the stryfe that is
betwene them is foule and dyshonest; we sholde do
well yf we coude fynde the meanes by any maner of
wayes to apeace them / and therfore I counsell, lette vs 1 2
all togyther go to the kinge, and desyre hym to haue
mercy and potye of bothe these tuo brethern, & that
it myght 8 please hym to apeace them, and render to
Huon all his londes / and yf we coude briwg it to this 16
poynt, it sholde be a good dede as to accorde them
togyther.'
Howe the peeres layde all 4 the dede to gyue
the iugement vpon duke Nayraes.* But for 20
all that euer he coude say or doo, the kynge
iuged Huon to dye. Capitulo .lxxxii.
•Fter that the erle of Flaunders had
sj» ken, the erle of Chalons rose vp 24
and sayd, <5Syre erle6 of Flaunders,
your reason is good, and ye haue
spoken lyke a noble man / but I
know surely that the kyng wyll do 28
no thynge at our desyres. But, syrs, yf ye thynke it
good, let vs all put the hole mater vpon duke Naymes
of Bauyer /& all that he wyll say let vs agree therto ' /
than all the lordes accordyd togyther, & sayd how the 32
1 Henry. * such. 3 Fol. lxi. col. 2.
4-4 vppon Duke Naymes to giue the iudgement vpon him :
6-6 My Lord.
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Ca. lxxxil] how esclaramonde laments huon's sad fate. 253
erle Chalons had sayd1 wel. Than they came to the2
duke Naynies, and desyryd hym that he wolde take
the charge of that mater on 3 hym, and what so euer he
4 dyd they were al agreed therto / whan the duke herd
them he stode styll a certen space, & began to studye
on the mater, and tooke all the .x. peeres to counsell
with hym. And whan ye fay re Esclaramonde saw
8 Huon her housebonde in that daunger among them
with whom he shold haue been in ioy, than she began
sore to wepe, and sayd, 'A, Huon, I se here great EscUmmonde
pouerte, whan in the same proper towne where as ye sad &te,
12 ought to be lorde to be in this daunger, and besyde
that ye are not beleued nor herde of any man that is
here, for any profe or wytnes that ye can say or shew /
kynge Charlemayne wyll not beleue that ye haue ben
16 in the cyte of Baby*lone, and yet surely there ye haue
ben / for I saw you there slee my father the admyrall
Gaudys, and toke his berd, and drewe out of his mouth
.iiii. of his greatest teth / gret petye it shalbe yf ye
20 sholde dye for jour trough and faythfulnes / 6 the thynge
that most fereth me is that I se none that be here
lykely to be a noble man, namely,6 the kynge, who is
chefe of all other ; 7 me thynke he is full of falshede /
24 for I se none other but he 8purchaseth for8 your deth.
But I promyse to god that yf he suffer you to haue this
wronge, and thus to dye, I saye than as for my parte
that Mahounde is better worth than your 9 god Iesu and reproaches
Chriit with
28 Cryst9 / and yf it be soo that ye receyue deth without10 permitting
injustice.
cause, I shall11 newer more beleue in 12 Jesu Cryst 12 / but
renounce his law, and beleue in Mahounde.' There were
many lordes and knyghtes that herd the ladyes wordes /
32 wherof they had suche petye that the moost part of them
began to wepe. And whan Huon herde hys wyfe he
1 right * omitted. 3 vppon. 4 Fol. lxi back, col. 1.
6 but. 6 except 7 and yet 8~8 that seeks,
king Charlemaine. 10 a. 11 will.
**— 12 your king.
Digitized by
254
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxiL
Huon beg* her to tournyd 1 h is f ace to her warde,1 and sayd, ' Lady, I desyie
have patienoe.
you to leue your sorow and trust in god almyghty, who
so often tymes hath socouryd vs. ye know not what he
wyll do ; let vs be content with his good pleasure.' Thus 4
with suche wordes Huon apeaced the fayre Esclara-
monde. And duke Naymes, who was in counsell with
the other peeres, sayd to them, ' Syrs, I haue grete
sorow at my hert by cause of these two bre theme, so 8
Dnke Nayme« that I can not tell what Counsell to fynde. I desyre
hesitates to give
the peen counsel, you all that in this weyghty mater to counsell me &
shew me your opynyons therm.' ' Syr,' quod the lordes,
' other counsell ye shall not haue of vs, for we haue layde 1 2
al ye mater vpon you to do therin what it shall please
you.' 'Syres,' quod the duke / 'to dyssymell the
matter vayleth not,2 syn8 that Huon must passe by
iugement ; ho we saye you, shall he be hangyd or drawenV 1 6
1 Syr,' quod Gaulter, who was y* fyrst 4speker / ' me
bntheindig. thynke he can scape none other wyse.' 'A, traytour,'
GMuui?proposai quod the duke, * thou lyest falsly, for it shall not
tepuf to deatt!1*1 folow after thy counsell, whether thou wylt or not ; 20
there is no man this day that shalbe so hardye5 to iuge
hym to dye / therf ore, syrs, yet shew me agayne y f • ye
wyll all agree to my counselL' ' Syr,' quod they, ' we
haue layde the charge on you, the whiche we wyll all 24
byde by' / but who so euer was glade, Gaulter was
sorowful and angrye / for he wold haue consentyd to
the deth of Huon. Than all the barons, ryght sad and
pensyue, went out of the counsell chambre, and they 28
The peen, coude fy nde no maner of wayes howe to saue Huon,
Boon's il*. but they all prayed to god to ayde & socoure hym.
And Huon seynge the barons comyng so sadly togyther,
thought that the mater was not at a good poynt, wherby 32
he began sore to wepe / whan Esclaramond and Gerames
saw the sorowe tliat Huon made, they had gret petye
1-1 toward her. ' but. 3 since.
4 Fol. lxi. back, col. 2. 6 as. 6 whether.
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Google
Ca. lxxxii.] how the duke naymes seeks justice.
255
therof. Than Huon belielde duke Naymes, for lie knew
well al the mater lay in his handes / he feeryd greatly
the iugement that sholde be made vpon hym / & sayd,
4 ' a, very god & man, as I beleue veryly that thou Huon prays for
dydyst dye on the holy crosae to redeme vs all, & that *afetT"
on the thyrd day thou dyddyst ryse fro deth to lyfe,
I requyre the humbly in this grete nede to socoure me,
8 as treuly as I am in the ryght, for more wrong can1 no
man haue.' Than ye duke Naymes of Bauyer cam to
y* kinge, & said / ' s/r, wyll it please you to here what
we haue deuysyd 1 ' ' Ye/ quod the kinge, ' I desyre
12 no thynge elies to know* / 'well, s/r,' quod the duke,
' than I demaunde of you in what place of your regyon Naymea a»ks
,ii o 7 . i i o a « „ „ Chariot where he
thynke you * that ye ought2 too mge of the peeres of thinks the peers
Fraunce]' 'Naymes,' qwod ye kynge, ' I know well ye be brought fo"ld
16 be a noble man, & all tliat ye say is to delyuer Huon Mal'
of Burdeux / but I wyll ye know all shall not profyt The king declares
that Huon ihall
hym.' Than y* duke sayd, ' str, to say so ye do grete die.
wronge. Therfore, sir, regarde well in what 3 place ye
20 wyll haue one of your peeres iugyd. yf ye know not
where it ought to be done, I shall4 shew you in your
realme there are but thre places to do it in. The fyrst Naymes shows
that there are
is the towne of Seynt Omers / the .ii. is Orleaunce, & only three towns
24 ye thyrd is Parys / & therfore, sir, yf ye wyll procede be tried*6™ C*1
vpon Huon by iustyce, it is conuenyent that it be done
in one of these thre places, for here in this towne he
can not be iugyd.' ' Naymes,' quod y* kynge, ' I vnder-
28 stonde well why ye saye this ; I well se & perceyue that Charlemagne
reproaches the
ye entende to none other ende but to delyuer5 quyt Duke with
attempting to
Huon. I had thought to haue entretyd hym by the acquit noon,
ordre of iustice / to thentent that none of you sholde
32 haue reprouyd me, therfor I ordeynd that he sholde
haue ben iugyd by you that be the peeres of Fraunce /
& I se well ye haue done no thynge therin, & therfore
1 can after man. omitted. 8 Fol. lxii. col. 1.
4 will. 6 and.
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Google
256
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxii.
the Emperor's
words.
Very piteous is
Esclararaonde's
lamentation.
Oerames also
weeps sorely.
as longe as ye lyue ye shall medell no more wt'U that
mater / but by the berde that I here on my chyn, I
shall neuer dyne nor ete no mete after this dyner tyll I
se hym hangyd and drawen / for all your berynge of 4
hym agaynst me.' Than he commaundyd ye tabelles to
be set vp / 1 whan Gerard vnderstode the kynge he was
ioyfull ther of in his herte / but he made no semblaunt
of ioy by cause of the lordes that were there present / 8
whan Huon & Esclaramonde herd how ye kynge had
sworne the deth of Huon, The doloures wepynges &
teeres that they made were so extreme that herd it
were to declare it / & Esclaramond sayde to Huon, 12
4 A, 8yr, now I se well / that grete pyte it shalbe the
departynge of vs two / but yf I had a knyfe I wold
not abyde your deth / but fyrst I sholde slee my selfe
before this false and vntrow kynge* / her compleyntes 16
were so petufull that moost part of the lordes wept for
pyte / and the olde Gerames sore wept, & sayd, 'A,
good lord god, in what houre was I born ! in grete
doloure & payne I haue vsyd 2 my youth / & now in 20
myn age thus shamfully 8 to dye.' Thus all .iii. made
suche sorow that it wolde haue made a hard herte to
lament. A1J .iii. thought none otherwyse but to dye,
by cause they had herde kinge Charlemayne make 24
suche promyse / but that4 god wyi ayde6 no man can
lette, 6 for yf 6 god saue the good kinge Oberon,7 kynge
Charlemayne shalbe foreworne, as ye shall here8 after.
Nowe let vs leue spekynge of these9 pyteous company, 28
& speke of the noble kinge Oberon of ye fayrye, who as
than was in his woode.
% How kynge Oberon cam to socoure Huon,
& made Gerarde to .coafesse all the treason 32
1 and. * continued. 3 Fol. lxii. col. 2. 4 which.
6 saue. and. 7 for. 8 here. 9 this.
Ca. lxxxiii.] how obbron has pity for huon.
that he had purchasyd agaynst Huon his
brother. Capitulo .lxxxiii.
257
E haue herd before how kinge Oberon
was displeased with Huon by cause he
had broken his cowimauwdement. But
whan Huon had ben at Kome, and
confessyd of all his synnes, &1 assoylled
Oberon had taken
Hnon again into
hie fa our after
he had been
8 of y* pope. Than king Oberon was content, & in his confeaaed by the
herte forgaue all the yll wyll that he had to Huon / & Pop*
as he sat at diner, he began to wepe / whan his seruante* W(*v* 0T8T
° r ' hit misfortunes
sawe that, they had grete meruayie, & sayd to2 hym / in France.
1 2 * si>, we desyre you to shew vs why ye do wepe & be
so troubled ; there is sum dyspleasure done to2 you / sir,8
for the loue of our lorde Jesu Cryst, we desyre you
hyde it not fro us.' 4 Syrs,' quod the kynge, 'I
16 remembre now the vnhappy Huon of Burdeux, who is
retournyd fro y* farre partes, & he hathe passyd by
Home, & there hath taken his wyfe in maryage, & is
confessyd of all his synnes, for the whiche synnes he
20 hath ben by ine sore punyshyd.
• But it is tyme, yf euer I wyll do hym any good,
now to ayda hym, & to socoure hym agaynst kynge
Charlemayne / for he hathe 4sworne neuer to go to bed
24 tyll6 he haue hangyd & drawen the poore Huon / but
by the grace of our lorde god, Charlemayn shalbe for-
sworne, for at this tyme I shall socoure & ayde hym / He declares be
for he is as now in such a daunger, without he be hUeS,** °n<" k
28 socouryd incontynent, deth is nere hym / he was neuer
in his lyfe in suche perell / he is now in the palays at
Burdeux, & hys wyfe the fayre Esclaramonde, & the
olde Gerames, with feters on ther fete, beynge in grete
32 sorow / & kinge Charemain is set at dyner, & hath
made his oth to hang6 Huon / but yet whether he wyll
1 was. 1 vnto. 8 therefore. 4 Fol. lxii. back, ooL 1.
* vntill.
6 haue.
CHARL. BOM. VI.
8
Digitized by
258
HUON OP BUBDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxiii.
and he wishes
himself,
with the table at
which he is
sitting,
and his horn, cap,
and armour,
and a hundred
thousand men,
transported to
Bordeaux.
His desire Is at
Charlemagne
believes that
Nay mea has
Huon how
Oberon is come to
aid him.
The city is Ailed
with Oberon and
his armed men,
or not he shalbe periuryd / for I wyll go to my frende
Huon, & helpe hym at his node / therfore I wyshe my
table, & all that is theron, nere to kynge Charlemayns
table, & sum what aboue his a1 two fote hyer ; & also 4
I wyll, by cause I haue herd say that often tymes of a
lytell castell cometh a greater, therfore I wyl that on
my table be set my cuppe, & home, & harnes,2 y*
whiche Huon conqueryd of ye Gyaunt Angolaffer ; & 8
also I wysh with me a .CM. men of armes such as I
was wont to haue in batayle ' / he had no soner sayd
y6 wordes / but by the wyll of god & the pusaunce of
the fayry / his table & all that ki?^ge Oberon had 12
wyshyd was set iust by kinge Charlemaynes table,
more hyer & greater than his was / whan8 Charlemayne
sa we the table, & the cuppe &4 home & cote of mayle,
he had greate meruayle, & sayd to duke Naymes, ' str 16
duke, I beleue ye haue enchauntyud me.' ' sir,* quod
the duke, 'neuer in my lyfe I medled with such mater1 /
the lordes & all suche as were there were greatly
abasshyd how that mater came to passe / Gerames, 20
who set nere to Huon, whan he saw the table, & y*
cuppe & home of yuory & the harnes6 theron, he knew
them well, & sayd to Huon, 4 syr, be not dysmayed / for
on yonder table that ye may se is your cuppe & home 24
of yuory and cot of mayl / wherby I perceyue wel
that ye 6 shalbe soeouryd by kynge Oberon ' / Huon
behelde the table, & had grote ioye whan he saw it /
than he lyft vp his haudes to the heuen & thanked our 28
lorde god that he wolde vyset suche a pore synner as
he was.7 ' A, kynge Oberon, in many grete nedes ye
haue soeouryd me ' / therwith aryued kinge Oberon in
the cyte, wherof the burgesses & the comons were 32
greatly abashyd, whan they saw suche a nombre of men
of warre enter in to there cyte without any knowledge
1 aboute.
my armour.
King.
6 armour. 6 Fol. lxii. back, ool. 2.
4 omitted.
7 saying.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxxxiii.] op oberon in thb emperor's presence.
259
before. Whan kinge Obero/i was within y6 towne, &
al his company, he sayd to his lordes, ' syrs, loke that
ye set good watche at euery gate, so that no man go
4 out ' / the whiche they dyd delygently / for at euery ud the gates are
gate they set .x.M. men / Hhe cyte was full of men.1 l^a^noL'c^
Than kyng Oberon toke the way to the palays, & at y* ottt"
gate he left .x.M. men, commaundyng them on payne of
8 there lyues that they shold not suffer any man to passe
out / & also he commaundyd that yf they herde hym
blowe his home of yuory, that incontynent they sholde
eome in to the palays to hym, & to sle all suche as they
12 sholde fynde there / & they promysyd hym so to do.
Than kyng Oberon went vp in to the palays, & many oberon arriree at
the palace.
of his lorde* / with hym / he was rychely aparellyd in
cloth of golde, & the border therof was fret 2 with ryche
16 precyous stonnes ; goodly it was to behold, for a fayrer
lytell perBon'coude not be founde / he passyd iust by He rudely touchee
Charlemagne as
kyng Charlemayn without spekynge of any worde, & he passes by him.
went so nere too kynge Charlemayn that he shuidred
20 hym so rudely that his bonet fell fro his hede. ' A,
good lorde/ quod Charlemayne, ' I haue greate meruayle
what this dwarfe may be that so rudely hath shuidred
me, & all moost had ouer throwen my table / he is The King is
greatly annoyed,
24 feerse whan he thinkes scorn e to speke to me, how
be it, I wyll se what he wyll do / I can not tell and watches his
Z 6 ' , » movements.
what he thynketh to doo / as3 me semyth he is
ryght ioyful, & also he is ye moost fayrest creature
28 that 4euer I saw ' / wha» Oberon had passyd by
the kyng he came to Huon, & wysshyd y* fetters oberon wills the
fetters to fell
fro all there fete, l& toke them by theyr handes1 from Huon's feet.
& led them before Charlemayn with out any worde
32 spekynge, & causyd them to syt downe6 at his owne
table that he had wysshyd thether, *& he sat downe
with them1 / than he toke his cuppe and made theron
omitted. » sette. 8 but. 4 Fol. lxiii. col. 1.
6 with him.
8 2
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Google
260
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxiii.
Esclaramonfle,
Huon, and
Germmea drink
from hia
enchanted cap.
Oberon bid* Huon
offer the cap to
Charlemagne.
ft grows empty
In the Emperor*!
hand.
Oberon charges
him with haritig
committed a sin
which he has
Charlemagne
fears the fairy-
king.
.iiL crosses / than incontynent y* cuppe was full of
wyne / than kynge Oberon toke it & gaue it to Esclara-
mond to drynke, & than to Huon, & so to Gerames /
& whan they had all thre dronken well, he sayd to 4
Huon, ' frende, aryse vp & take the cuppe & here it to
kynge Charlemayne, & say vnto hym that he drynke to
you in the name of good 1 peace / yf he refuse it he dyd
neuer suche a foly in all hys lyfe.' Kynge Charlemayne, 8
who sat nere to them at his owne table, herd kiwge
Oberons wordes / than he wyst not what to thynke, &
so sat sty 11 & durst2 speake no8 worde for the great
meruaylles that he saw there, and no more durst 12
none of his men, for they were so abasshyd that there
was none there / but that gladly wolde haue ben a
C. legges thense; xeuery man beheld other grete
meruayle.1 But who so euer was af rayed, Gerarde 16
was not4 well assuryd.5 Than Huon rose fro kynge
Oberons table, & tooke the cuppe & went ther with to
kynge Charlemayn, & delyueryd it to hym. The kynge
toke it, and he1 durst not refuse it. as soone as it was 20
in his handes it was drye & voyde, and not a drope of
wyne therin. * Felow,' quod y* king, ' ye haue en-
chauntyd me.' * Syr/ qwod kynge Oberon, * it is
bycause ye are full of synne / for ye cup is of suche 24
dygnyte that none can drynke therof without he be a
noble man, & clene without any deedly synne / & I
know one that ye dyd not longe a go, the whiche as
yet ye were neuer confessyd of / & yf it were not to 28
your shame I sholde shew it here openly, that euery
man sholde here it 9 / whan themperowr 6 Charlemayne
herde kinge Oberon he was abasshyd, & afrayed that
kynge Oberon wold haue shamyd hym openly / than 32
Huon toke agayne the cuppe, & than incontynent it
was full of wyne agayne / & than Huon bare it to duke
1 omitted. 2 not.
one.
• Fol. Ixiii. col. 2.
4 vcrie. 6 pleased.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxxxiii.] how charles is rebuked. 261
Naymes, who sat next to Charlemayne. Naymes toke only Duke
, , -on Naymes of all the
the cuppe & dranke therof at his pleasure. But all courtiers can
other coude not touche the cuppe, they were so full of enchanted cop.
4 synne. Than Huon retournyd to kyng Oberon, & sat
downe by hym / than kinge Oberon called to hym
duke Naymes, & commaundyd hym to ryse fro Charle-
mains table & to syt downe by hym at his table / the
8 whiche duke Naymes dyd, he durst not say nay. Than
Oberon sayd to hym / * sir duke Naymes, ryght good Oberon commence
. . Naymes for his
thanke I can1 you in that ye haue ben so trew & lust faith in Huon,
to Huon / & you,2 kynge Charlemayn, 8 who is8
12 emperour of y* Komayns / beholde here Huon, whom and rebukes the
Emperor for the
wrongfully & with out cause ye haue dysheryt, & wold injustice of which
take fro hym4 his londes / he is a noble man & trew / guilty in his
& besyde that, I say vnto you for trouthe he hath done braum Huon6
16 your message to6 the admyrall Gaude*,.& I ay dyd to andaer*rd-
bringe hym to hys deth, &6 he toke out of his mouth
.iiii. of his gretest teth, &7 dyd cut of his whyte berde /
& I dyd close them within the syde of Gerames by the
20 wyll of god / this that I say ye may beleue surely, for
at these dedes all I was present. Se yonder false
traytour Gerard, who by his malysyous entent hath
done this treason / & to thentent8 that ye may knowe
24 the mater more surelyer, ye shall here it confessyd by
his owne mouth.' Than Oberon said to Gerarde, 1 1 oberonbids
Gerard confess
coniure the, by ye deuyne puyssau;*ee & power that god the troth,
hath gyuen me, that here before kynge Charlemayn
28 & all his lordes, 9 she we & declare the trouthe of this
treason that10 thou hast done agaynst Huon thy brother.'
whan Gerarde vnderstode Oberon he was in such fere that
he trymbled for drede / for he felt in hym selfe that he
32 coude haue no power to hyde 11 or 12couer11 the trouth of
the treason / & than he sayd, ' Syr, I se wel to hyde the and he tells aloud
1 giue. 2 thou. 8-3 that art 4 all. 6 vnto.
8 theu. 7 also. 8 the end. 9 thou. 10 which.
omitted. u Fol. lxiii. back, col. 1.
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HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. Ixxxiii.
the story of hi* trouthe can not auayle me / therfore trewe it is I went
tin tf&intt hit
brother. to the abbay of seynt Maurys to se my brother Huon /
& Gybouars accompanyd with .lx. men of1 armes. we
departyd fro this cyte, and layde our busshement in a 4
lytell wood a2 .ii legees fro this cyte / to watch whan
my brother Huon shold passe by that way.' ' Gerarde/
quod kyng Oberon, ' speke out hyer that ye may the
better be herde, & that euery man may here the treason 8
& falsnes that ye haue done to8 your brother.' ' Syr/
quod Gerard, 'I wote not what to say / for I haue
done so yll and falsly against my brother that more yll
au the detaOt of I coude not do ; 4 1 am ashamyd to recounte it But to 1 2
hBtore^e™ "* saye trewly that, or6 it was mydnyght, I made my
Emperor. brother to ryse, & to departe fro y* abbay / & whan we
came nere to the place where as my father in law
Gybouars was with his busshement, I began to stryue 16
with my brother so hyely that Gibouars myght here
me, who whan he herde me speke, he brake out6 of
his busshement, & ranne at my brothers company, &
so slew them all excepte these .iii. that be here / than 20
we toke ye deed bodyes & dyd cast them in to the
ryuer of Gerone / than we toke Huon, & his wyfe, &
the olde Gerames, & bounde theyr handes & fete &
blyndfelyd theyr iyen, & so brought them on .iii. 24
lene horses in to this cyte ; & I toke out of the syde
of 7 Gerames the berd & .iiii. gret teth / the whiche yf it
please you I shall fetche them fro thense8 I left them.'
' Gerarde/ quod Oberon, * ye shall not nede to take the* 28
laboure, for whan it shall please me I can haue them
without you ' / ' well, sir,' quod Gerarde, ' thus whan
I had set them in pryson, I went backe agayne to the
abbay, & than I demaundyd of the abbot & couent 32
where the treasure was that my brother had left there,
& that he sholde delyuer it to me, beerynge hym in
1 at. 1 about 8 vnto. 4 and. 6 before.
• forth. 7 old. 8 the place where. 9 that.
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Ca. lxxxiii.] op Gerard's confession.
2G3
hande that my brother Huon bad 1sent for it / the good
abbot wolde not delyuer it to me / wherfore Gybouars
& I slew hym, & than we made this monke here2 abbot,
4 who is neer of kyne to Gybouars, to ye entent that he
sholde ayde to bere vs wytnes, & to iustyfye our
saynges / than we toke all the treasure that was there
& brought it hyther / than I chargyd .x. somers, the
8 whiche I had with me, to kynge Charlemayns court at
Parys / the which treasure I gaue part therof to the
kynge, & to other, by whom I thought to be aydyd,
to parforme myn vnhappye enterpryce / & I beleued
12 surely that by reason of the ryches that I gaue that
my brother sholde haue receyued deth / & therby I to
haue ben lorde & mayster of al his londe* & seygnoryes /
sir,8 this treason that I haue shewed, Gybouars causyd oemd charts
16 me to do it, or elles I had neuer thought to haue done the^^u™ of
it/ 1 Gerarde,' quod king Oberon, 1 yf it please our ich«^.ked
lord Jesu Cryst, you & he both shalbe hangyd by the
neckes, there is no man lyuynge shall saue you. Syr oberon reqoecta
20 emperour Charlemayn, ye haue well herd the confessyon o^erS^iLi
of Gerard of the grete treason that Gybouars & he ^h^^"1001 to
hath done to4 Huon. But by ye lorde that fourmyd
me to his semblaunce / both they two, & the abbot, &
24 his chapleyne, shalbe hangyd for there false wytnes.'
' By y* fayth that I owe to saynt Denys/ quod kynge
Charlemayn / 'they can not scape it.' 'Syr,' quod andChwie*
Naymes, 1 it is grete sjnne to trouble a noble man / ye
28 shal do well yf all iiii be hangyd ' / whan all the lordes
herd Gerarde confesse that gret treason that he had
done to4 his brother, they blissyd them, & had grete
meruayle of ye false treason that the one brother dyd
32 to the other.
1 Fol. lxiii. back, col. 2. 2 the. 3 and all. 4 vnto.
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264
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxiv.
How kynge Oberon caused to be hangyd
the .iiii. traytours, Gerard, Gybouars, & the
two monkes, for 1 there false wytnes / & of
the peace made bet wen Huon & Charle- 4
mayne / and how kyng Oberon gaue to2
Huon his realme of the fayrye.
Capitulo Ixxxiiii.
•Han kynge Oberon had herd Gerarde 8
confesse the treason done to his brother,
oberon wUh« the [Mffll '^Jl an ^ herde how Gerarde ofrred to goo
5^G«rardhM <v fetche the berde &8 teth / & how
m£ "if**" ^B^^ he had denyed hym to go, Than he 12
sayd, * I wysshe them here on4 this table.' he had no
and th«y obey his sooner made his wysshe but they were set on the
table / wherof all such as were there had gret mer-
uayle. 'Syr,' quod Huon to kynge Oberon, humbly, 16
Ha<m pieadi for ' I requyre you that of your grace ye wyll pardon my
the life of Gerard
hia brother. brother Gerard all y* yll that he hath done against
me / for he dyd it by Gybouars, & as for me here, &
before god, I pardon hym ; and, sir, yf ye wyll do 20
thus I shalbe content therwit/i / & to thentent that
we may vse our liues fro hense forth in good peace &
loue, I wyll gyue 6 hym the halfe parte of my londes &
8eygnorye8 / &, sir, in the honoure of our lord Jesu 24
Cryst, haue pyte of hym ' / whan the lordes that were
there present vnderetode Huon, they all for pyte began
to wepe, and sayd amonge them selfe that Huon was a
noble knyght, & that it had ben pyte yf the mater had 28
oberon will grant framyd other wyse. ' Syr Huon/ quod Oberon / Wt is
not necessarye to * requyre me of 6 this / for all the golde
tiiat is in the worlde shall not respyte them 7 fro the
deth.7 I wysshe by y* puyssaunce that I haue in y6 32
1 Fol. lxiiii. col. 1. 1 vnto. 3 great 4 vpon.
6 Fol. lxiiii. col. 2. request. 7~7 their deaths.
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Ca. lxxxiv.] how oberon recites his history.
2C5
fayrye, 1and by my dygnyte,1 that here beneth in y*
medow ther be a payre of gallowes, & all foure theron and the traitors
hangyd.' Incontynent it was done, and all foure ftrehanged*
4 hangyd / thus as ye haue herd y° traytours were payed
ther desertes. Whan kynge Charlemayn had sene the The Emperor
, believes Obero
gret meruaylles that were done by the 1 commaundement to be God
of1 kyng Oberon, he sayd to his hides, 1 Syrs, I beleue HiIn,eIf•
8 this man be* god hymselfe / for there is no mortall man
can do this that he hath done ' / whan Oberon vnder-
stode the emperour, he sayd, ' Syr, know for trouth I bat the Wry-king
H0Clt66 Ills
am not3 god, but I am a mortall man as ye be, and history,
12 was engendred on a woman as ye were, & my father
was J uly us cesar, who engendred me on the lady of y*
preuey4 yle, who had ben before louer to Florymount,
sonne to the duke of Albanye / she bare me .ix.
16 monethes in her bely,5 and6 begoten by Julyus cesar
whan he went in to Thesayle after Pompe the grete.
He was amourous of my mother bycause she pro-
phesyed that my father, Julius cesar, sholde wynne
20 the batayle as he dyd / and whan I was borne there
were vriih my mother many ladyes of y* fayrye, and by
them I hadde many gyftes, and amonge other there
was one that gaue me ye gyft to be suche one as ye se
24 that1 1 am, wherof I am sorye, but I can7 be none other-
wyse / for whan I cam to the age of thre yere I grew
no more / & whan this lady8 saw that I was so lytell /
to content agayne my mother she gaue me agayne that
28 I sholde be the moost1 fayrest creature of the worlde,
and other ladyes of the fayry gaue me dyuers other
gyftes, the whiche I ouer passe at this tyme / & ther-
fore, sir, know for trouth that aboue all thynges god
32 loueth fayth & trouth whan it is in men, as it is here
in Huon; & bycause I know in9 certaine that he is
1-1 omitted. * some. 8 no. 4 secret. 6 wombe.
• I was. * not. • Fol. Will, back, col. 1.
• for.
266 huon op burdbux. [Ca. lxxxiv.
and teiu of hit trew & faythf ull, therfore I haue alwayes loued hym.'
love for Huon.
After that kynge Oberon had endyd his wordes, &
shewed thewperour Charlemayn of all his estate, he
called Huon, and sayd, 1 ' aryse vp, & take the berde & 4
the teth, & bere them to kyng Charlemayn, & desyre
hym to render to you your londes as he promysyd.'
Huon gives 4 Syr/ quod Huon, 1 1 ought so to do 9 / than Huon
beeTdle»j^uw^e came to kinge Cliarlemayne, & sayd, ' Syr, by your 8
from Beoyion. yf ft maye please you to receyue here y* berde
& teth of y* admyral Gaudys.' ' Huon,' quod y* kinge,
The Emperor * I holde you quyt, and I render to you all your londes
hands over to blip * fc
au bis lends, & seygnoryes, & pardon you of all myn yll wyll, and 12
eli h?offeuoee.m put al rancoure fro me, & fro hense forth2 retayne you
as one of my peeres.' ' Syr,' quod Huon, * of this I
thanke god & your grace/ than themperour Charle-
mayne clyppyd & kyBsyd Huon in token of peace & 16
The courtiers loue. Whan the lorde* saw that they wept for ioy, &
reconduluom6 thanked god that the peace was made, & specyally duke
naymes was ioyfull. than within a whyle dyuers of ye
lordes departyd fro the courte / than kynge Oberon 20
Oberon bids Hnon called Huo?i to8 hym, & said / ' sir, I commaunde you,
oome to Mommur _ . . .
in four yean' as derely as ye loue me, that this same day .nil. yere to
Um*' come that ye come in to my cyte of Mommure / for I
wyll gyue you my real me & all my dygnyte, the which 24
and promises him I may lawfully do, for at my byrth it was gyuen me
the kingdom of
the fairies. that I myght so do, for it lyeth in me to gyue it where
as I thynke best, & bycause I loue you so entyerly I
shall set ye crowne on4 your hede, and ye shalbe kyng of 28
Bordeaux shall my realme / & also I wyll that ye 6 gyue vnto Gerames
^nunse?™11 *° all your londes & seygnoryes in this partes, for he hath
wel deseruyd it / for wttft you & for yowr loue he hath
8uffred many grete trauaylles.' 1 Syr/ quod Huon, 32
(syn° this is your pleasure, I ought wel to be pleasyd
therwith; I shall acumplyshe all your commaunde-
1 Sir. 1 I. 8 vnto. 4 vpon.
6 Fol. Ixiiii. back, col. 2. 0 seeing.
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Ca. lxxxv.] op oberon'8 departure. 267
mente*.' 'Huon/ quod Oberon, 'know for trouth I obenmteiuofhu
shal not abyde longe in this worlde, for so is the plea- S^orefor
sure of god. it behoueth me to go in to paradyce, p*rmdUe-
4 wher as my place is apparelled1 ; in y* fayrye I shal byde
no longer, but beware, as derely as ye loue your lyfe,
that ye fayle not to be with me at y* daye that I haue
apoyntyd ; beware that ye forget it not / for yf ye fayle
8 I shall cause you too dye an yll deth / & therfore remewv
bre it welL' whan Huon herde kynge Oberon he was
ryght ioyus,2 & stowpyd downe to haue kyst his fete /
but than Gloryauns & Mallebron toke hym vp. Than
12 Huon sayd, 'syr, of8 this grete gyft I thanke you/
% How kyng Oberon departyd and toke lene
of Charlemayn, & of Huob, & of Esclara-
mounde / and also how kynge Charlemayne
16 departyd fro Burdeux. Ca. lxxxv.
Han kynge Oberon had sayd4 to Huon
as myche as he wold that he sholde
do / than he sayd to Huon how he
wolde departe, & toke leue of hym, &
6swetely kyssyd6 hym. Than Oberon Oberon weep, on
purtlnjf with
stode styll a season,9 & behelde Huon, & began to Haon.
wepe7 / whan Huon saw that he was sory in his herte,
24 & sayd, ' A, sir kynge, I desyre you to shew me why
make you this sorow at your departynge.'8 'Huon,'
quod Oberon, 1 1 shal shew you it is for pyte that I
haue of you / for I swere by *y* lorde9 that creatyd me
28 that, or10 I shal se thee agayne, fyrst thou, shalt sufifre so Huon has yet to
myche payne / trauayle / pouerte / hungre / thyrst / amenity.
fere / & 11aduersyte, that there is no tonge can tell it /
1 appointed. 8 ioyfull. 8 for. 4 imparted.
*-* kindly embraced. • little while. T lament
8 departure. him. 10 before.
" Fol. lxv. col. 1.
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HUON OP BURDKUX. [Ca. IxXXV. "
& thy good wyfe shall suffer so myche that there is no
creature shall se her but that shal haue 1of her1 great
pyte.' 'A, syr,' quod Huon, 'than I requyTe you to
ayde & comforte me.' 'Huon,' quod Oberon, 'what 4
comforte wolde ye haue of me ? 9 4 Syr/ quod Huon, 4 I
desyre you let me haue your home of yuory, to thentent
that yf I haue nede that ye may socoure me / for so
well I know you that ye wyll com and socoure me.' 8
1 Huon,' quod Oberon / 4 syn2 I haue agreed you with
Charlemayn, trust not on me to be socouryd in any of
your besyness, suffyce you with the gyft that I haue
gyuen you whan8 all my realme & pusaunce that I haue 12
in the fayrye / trust on none other socoure of me.' 4 Syr,
I am sory therof,' quod Huon, c that it may be none
oberon take* otherwyse.' Than kynge Oberon toke leue of kynge
court. Charlemayn, & of duke Naymes, & of all other lordes 16
there present. Than he went to Huon & enbraced
hym, & toke his leue of hym, & also of Esclaramonde
& of olde4 Gerames, & sayd to 4 the fay re lady4 Esclara-
monde, 4 1 commaunde you to god, & I desyre you, yf 20
ye haue done well hether vnto, that ye wyll parseuer
euer better & better, and bere always fayth & honour
to your housbonde ' / 4 syr/ quod she, * I pray god I
lyue no longer than6 I sholde4 do the contrary.1 Thus 24
kynge Oberon departyd / & after his departure kynge
chari«magi>e alto Charlemayn made redy his company, & toke leue of
leave* Bordeaux, jjuon^ 0f Egdaramonde & Gerames, and they con-
ueyed* the kynge a7 two legges,8 and than toke there 28
leues of 9 the kynge,9 & of duke Naymes, and of all the
but promiaet to lordes. Than the kynge sayd / 4 Huon, yf any warre
aid Huon In any
war in which he be moued agaynst you, or that yf ye haue any gret
may engage. affayres to do / let me haue knowlege therof, & I shall 32
come & socoure you, or 4 1 shall4 sende you suche ayde
that shalbe suffycient.' 4 Syr,' quod Huon, 4 1 thanke
*— 1 after pyte. 8 seeing. 8 euen. *— * omitted,
6 if. • brought 7 about 8 off. him.
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Ca. lxxxv.] OF the emperor's departure.
269
your grace,' and so toke1 leue of the kynge & retouryd
to Bur'dcux, where as he was 8 in grete ioy, &s recoyued
with grete honour.4 Nowe let vs leue spekynge of
4 Huon, & speke of Oberon of the fayrye.1
1 hia. * Fol. lxv. col. 2. «-» omitted. * ioy.
(BEING THE STORY OP THE ORIGINAL FRENCH CHANSON
DB GESTB OF HUON DB BORDEAUX).
END OF PART I
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PART II.
THE CONTINUATION OF THE ORIGINAL CHANSON DE QESTB.
THE ADVENTURES OF
Juke gtum 4 guri^ttx.
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i
PREFATORY NOTE.
The portrait which is prefixed to this volume will, I hope, prove
of some general interest. As the work of Holbein, and a memorial
of a first discoverer of the capacities of English prose, it deserves a
very prominent position among portraits of English men of letters.
The original painting is at Keythorpe Hall, Leicestershire. It has
been reproduced here for the first time by the kind permission of its
owner, the Hon. H. Tyrwhitt Wilson. Lord Berners is represented
in the robes of the Chancellor of the Exchequer : he holds in his right
hand a lemon to protect him (according to a contemporary belief)
from the plague, to which his presence in the Exchequer Court fre-
quently exposed him. The picture is described by Mr. Ralph
Wornum in his edition of Horace Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting
(i. 82), but Dr. Alfred "Woltmann in his elaborate book on Holbein
makes no mention of it. The present engraving is the work of
Messrs. Dawson of the Typograplric Etching Company.
I regret that I have been unable to complete the reprint of this
romance in a second part. The tale of Huon's wife, Esclaramonde,
and of the treacherous advances made towards her by the Emperor
of Germany {chapters lxxxvi — clvii), is alone printed here. The
concluding portions of Lord Berners' work, relating the wooing and
marriage of Huon's daughter, Clariet, the repulsive trials to which
Ide, Clariet's daughter, was subjected, and the early fortunes of
Croisant, Ide's son {chapters clviii — clxxxiv), are reserved for a third
part. For that part I am also preparing glossaries of the proper
names, places, and obscure words, with appendices on the leading
differences in the language of the first and third editions, and on
ii
PREFATORY NOTE.
some of the more curious legends introduced into the story. Lovers
of fairy lore may find much to interest them in the pages that follow.
Huon's second journey to the East (pp. 361 et seq.), to obtain succour
in behalf of his wife and child, involves him in more marvellous
perils than any he met with in his earlier travels. The descriptions
of Judas Iscariot (pp. 363-7) and of Cain are singular examples of
the mediaeval mythology that grew out of scriptural history. The
account of the last days of Oberon (pp. 597-606) is, like many
passages in the first part, worthy of notice in future commentaries on
Shakespeare's Midsummer Nighfs Dream.
The length of this romance will doubtless deter all but a very few
students from proceeding very far in its perusal It must in fairness
be admitted, too, that the plot works sluggishly, wanting in rapid
energy, and abounding in detail, which the modern critic will denounce
as superfluous. But such incidents as those to which I have drawn
attention effectively relieve the story's prolixity, and the never unme-
lodious monotony of its language is at times broken, as I have shown
before, by tones of the purest beauty. It is moreover in its bulk,
as in all other respects, an excellent representative of the popular
literature of sixteenth -century England. And let us remember
that it is not in effect much longer than an ordinary three-volume
novel of our own day, with which in an historical sense it invites
comparison. It therefore behoves lovers of the fiction of the present
age to treat Huon of Burdeux, its author, and those sixteenth-century
readers who could eagerly devour its pages, sympathetically : for the
judgment that we pass to-day on Lord Bernera' book and its first
enthusiastic patrons, assuredly awaits three centuries and a half
hence whatever may survive of the light literature of our own time,
and ourselves, who reward it with a golden homage.
I desire to take this, the first opportunity allowed me, of cor-
recting a misstatement made by Mrs. T. H. Ward in the Atkenceum
(August 18th, 1883), to disprove an assertion of mine that appeared
in the same journal five weeks earlier. Mrs. Ward there set among
her "facts" the remark that "Lord Berners — unless Mr. Lee has
some quite fresh information, in which case I must plead ignorance—
PREFATORY NOTE.
Hi
died on March 16th, 1532" and she proceeded to point out, that as
I accepted March 10th, 1533, for the date of the completion of an
important translation of Lord Berners — " the Golden Boke of Marke
Aurelie " — I made " the translation finished nearly a year after the
translator's death." If Mrs. Ward had done me the honour of turn-
ing to my record of the life of Lord Berners in the Introduction to
Part I, published in January last, she might possibly have avoided
the frequently repeated error into which she has here fallen. I
showed there that notices of the death of Lord Berners in Mr. James
Gairdner's Papers of Henry VIII (vol. vi, nos. 238 and 239) prove
conclusively that, reckoning the new year, as is the modern custom,
from the first of January, he died on March 16th, 1533. The makers
of biographical dictionaries have, I know, antedated the event by one
year in their forgetfulness of the well-known fact that with Lord
Berners* contemporaries the twenty-fifth day of March was the first
day of a new year. The mistake is one worth correcting permanently,
and I hope to be able to do so in the article on Lord Berners that
I am writing for Mr. Leslie Stephen's new Dictionary of National
Biography. As for Lord Berners* relations to so-called Euphuism,
which was the original subject of my brief controversy with Mrs.
Ward, I am quite ready to admit that Dr. Landmann, in a work
privately printed at Giessen in 1881, was the first, as Mrs. Ward has
shown, to call attention to the important influence he exerted in the
matter; but I do not imagine that Lord Berners7 connexion with
Euphuism is so thoroughly understood in England as to make such
a re-statement of the facts as I intend to give in an appendix wholly
a work of supererogation.
S. L. Lee.
26, Brondesbury Villas, London, N. W.
December 26, 1883.
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273
% Howe kynge Oberon deuysyd with his
knyghtes in his cyte of Mowmure in the
4 fayrye of the deck* of Huon of Burdeux, &
of that1 sholde fall2 after to hym.
Ca. .lxxxvi.
Han kynge Oberon was departyd fro
Burdeux he came to his cyte of Mom- oberon returns to
Hommur and
mure. Thaw8 he began sore to wepe. bewails the sad
° r fate that is still
Than Gloryaunt demaundyd of hym in store for Huon.
why he made that sorow. ' Gloryauns/
12 quod Oberon, ' it is for the vnhappy Huon / he is alone,
and I knowe well here after he shalbe betrayed, and
all for Esclararaonde his wyfe / for though4 he haue or5 Esciaramon.iewm
cause him much
this tyme sufferyd greate trauayle and myche trouble suffering.
16 and pouerte / yet I knowe surely that he shall suffer
more than euer he dyd, & he shal 6 haue no socoure of
any man lyuynge ' / 1 why, sir,9 quod Gloryauns, ' how
can that be ? / for Huon is a grete lorde, & hath many
20 frendes, and is the moost hardyest knyght now lyuyng /
& he is at accorde with kynge Charlemayn, therfore he
were a greate foole that wolde make hym any warre, &
do hym any dyspleasure 1 / 1 well/ quod Oberon, * god
24 ayde hym in all his affayres / for or5 it be longe he shall
haue myche to do.' Thus Oberon entred in to his ryche
palays, & sayd agayne, 1 A, fre7 knyght Huon, I know
well ye shalbe betrayed for the loue of your wyfe, who
1 which. 2 happen. 3 and there. 4 that. 6 ere.
6 Fol. Ixv. back, col. 1. T deare.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. T
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274
huon of burdeux. [Ca. lxxxvil
is fay re and goo J, and yf ye take not good hede ye
shall leue her and your selfe in grete perell of deth /
and yf ye scape the deth, yet shall you suffer suche
payne and pouerte that there is no clerke lyuynge so 4
sage that caw put it in wrytynge.' * Syr,' quod Glory-
auns / ' me thynke this can not be, seynge the loue that
is now betwene hym and Charlemayn.' ' Gloryauns/
quod Oberon, 'yet I say agayne to1 you that, or2 this 8
yere be passyd, Huon shalbe in such distres, and so
hardely kept, that yf he had .x. realmes he wolde gyue
them all to be out of that daurcger that he shalbe in 9 /
than Gloryauns was pensyue, and sayd / 'A, sir, for 12
goddes sake neuer leue Huon your frende in suche
Nor wm oberon daunger / but rather socoure hym* / 'nay, surely,'
aid him,
quod Oberon, 'that wyll I not doo / syn8 I haue pro-
now that Huon mysyd hym my dygny te & londe ; he shal not be aydyd 1 6
hu crown. nor socouryd by me, for he shalbe closyd in suche a
plase that I wolde not go thether for .x. of the best
cytyes of the worlde.' Now let vs retourne to1 Huon,
beynge in his palays at Burdeux. 20
% How Huon toke homage of his men &
chastesyd his rebelles, & of .iii. pylgremes,
by whom myche yll fell 4 after, as ye shall
here. Ca. .lxxxvii. 24
Fter that kynge Charlemayn was
departyd fro Burdeux & that Huon
was retournyd, he assambled all his
barons, to whom he made good chere, 28
and there they toke there londe* &
The lord* of fees of hym & made there homage,
homage to Huon. Than he toke a ,M. chosyn knyghtes wt'tA hym, & rode
in his londes & tooke possessyon of townes & castelles, 32
<fe was obeyed in euery place except of one Named
1 vnto. 2 before. 8 seeing. * Fol. Ixv. back, col. 2.
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Google
Ca. lxxxvii.] how three pilgrims come to bordeaux.
275
Angelers, who was cosyn germayne to Amaury, whom Angelars, a
" «- - - relative of the
Huon had slayne before at Parys before themperowr Eari Amaury,
Charlemayn for y* loue of Chariot / this Angelars was
4 false & a traytoure, & he had a stronge castell with / in
a1 .iii. legges of Burdeux / he woide not holde of Huon resists Huon-s
authority.
nor obey hym, tho he was his lege man / whan Huon
saw that he wolde not holde of hym nor do hym
8 homage, he was sore dyspleasyd, and made promyse that,
yf that he mygth gette hym parforce, he wolde surely
hange hym vp & 2 as many as were in the castell.3 than
Huon assaylled y* castell, & they within defendyd Huon marches to
12 them4 valyauntly / so that many were hurt and slayne ukehl,CMU0'
of5 both partes / Huon was there .viiL dayes & coude
not wyn ye castell / than Huon ordenyd before the
place a payre of galowes, & on6 y* .ix. day he made a which fails after
16 freshe assault by suche force7 that he wan ye castell nine d*y8' iiege*
& entred parforce. Angelars was taken & .lx.8 men Angelars and his
with hym, & they were al hangyd on y* galowes. Than anTha^ed."1
Huon gaue the castell to9 one of his knyghtes /10 than
20 he departyd & went to the castell of Blay, where as he
was receyued wit/i gret ioy / and the fayre Esclaramonde
was in her11 palays at Burdeux well acompenyd with
ladyes & dameselles / & as they were deuysynge to-
24 gyther, there entred into ye palays .iii. pylgremes who Three pilgrims
ryght humbly salutyd the lady Esclaramonde. ' Syrs/ Esclaramonde at
quod y* lady, ' 1 pray you shew me out of what countre Bordeaux'
ye are come* / 'dame/13 quod one of them, 1 know for
28 trouth that we are come fro Ierusalem, & haue made They say they are
Journeying from
our o fiery nge to the holy sepulture, we haue su fiery d the Holy Land,
myche pouertie in oure iurnay, wherfore, lady, we
requjrre you humbly for the loue of our lorde Jesu
32 Cryst to gyue vs sum meet/ 'Syrs/ quod she, 'ye
shall haue ynough ' / & than she coinmaundyd two of
1 omitted. 2 Fol. Ixvl. col. 1. s with him. 4 selues.
6 on. 0 vppon. 7 fttrength. * Fortie. 9 vnto.
w and. 11 the. M Madame.
T 2
Digitized by
Google
276
huon op burdbux. [Ca. Ixxxvii.
They are well
entertained.
but soon eet out
for Vienna.
On their way they
meet Duke Raoul,
who waa
hawking.
He is a traitor
and a mover of
war.
He welcomes the
pilgrims,
and auks how
they have fared.
her knyghtea to se1 y* pylgremes sholde haue meet and
drynke / & so they were set at ye end of the hall, & a
table coueryd for them, & thereon brede & fleshe &
wyne / they were well serued. Thaw the duches 4
Esclaramo/ide went to vysyt thewi, <fe deinau?*dyd where
they were borne & whether they wolde go. 'Dame/2
quod they, ' we be all .iii. borne at Vyene, & thether we
wolde retourne 1 / t syrs, god be your gyde,' quod the 8
lady, & she gaue them .x. Florence, wherof they had
grete ioy & thankyd y* duches. 8 Alas ! that gyft was
yll imployed,4 as ye shal here 5 after. They departyd
& toke ther way, & trauayled so longe that on a twes- 12
daye 6 they aryued halfe a legge fro Vyene / & ther they
met duke Raoull, who was goynge a hawkynge / he
was a grete & puyssaunt lord of londes & seynoryes, &
hardy in dedes of armes. grete domage7 it was that he 16
was such a traytoure, for a more subtylman coude not
be knowen / for all the dayes of his lyfe he was euer a
mouer of warre & stryfe & to do treason, without
hauynge regarde other to kynne or other / god con- 20
founde hym / for by hym & hys cause Huon sufFeryd
so myche yll that it cannot be recountyd. This duke
Raoull was to mary / thus as he was in the feldes a
hawkynge, & .xx. knyghtes with hym, he met the sayd 24
thre pylgremes, & anone he knew them. Than he rode
to them & sayd, * syrs, ye be welcom home ' / they were
ioyf all, whan they saw the duke, there lord, salute them
so humbly, & for ioy therof they shewed hy??i such 28
newes that by ye occasyon therof .xx. M knyghtes lost
after theyr lyues, & Raoull hymselfe receyued y* deth /
& Huon had suche trouble that he had neuer none
suche before, as ye shall here 6 after. Than the duke 32
sayd to the pylgremes / ' frendes, I pray you shew me
by what couwtrees ye haue passyd to com nether.'
1 that. 8 Madame. 8 but 4 bestowed. 6 here,
• Fol. Ixvi. col. 2.
4 bestowed.
7 pittie.
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Google
Ca. lxxxviiL] op duke raoul's evil designs.
277
' Sjr/ quod they, ' we haue passyd by Fraunce, & fyrst
we were at Burdeux, & there we fouttde ye duches They u>u him how
Esclaramonde
Esclaramounde, wyfe to Huon of Burdeux, of whom ye received them at
4 haue herd so myche spekynge of.1 she is so fayre & andhowiair
so well fourmyd,2 so swete, pleasaunt, & gracyous as can >h6i*
be deuysyd. she is doughter to the admyrall Gaudy s,
whom Huon hath slayne, & taken her to his wyfe /
8 grete domage8 is it that Huon sholde haue suche a
wyfe / for she were meter to be wyfe to a pusauwt »nd how worthy
J ' to be the wife of a
kinge, for who so euer had suche a wyfe to lye by greater prim*
than Huon— even
myght wel say that there were none lyke her in all ye of Raoui himself.
12 worlde / wolde to our lorde god, sir / that she were
your wyfe ' / whan the duke herde that, he chaungyd
coloure & greatly couertyd the lady in his herte / so
that he was stryken with 4 such 6sparke of that for the6
16 byrnynge loue that he had to the lady Esclaramonde,6
he promysed & sware that he wolde haue her, who so The Duke swears
i.i a ii *« iii that he wtli wed
ener sayd the contrary, & sayd ho we 7 he wolde slee Esclaramonde.
Huon, & than haue Esclaramonde to his wyfe. Thus
20 duke Raoull sware the deth of Huon /8 than he departyd
fro the pylgremes. yll was employed9 the almes that
Esclaramonde had gyuen them.
% How duke Raoull of Austrych, by the
24 reporte of the pylgremes, was amourous of
the fayre Esclaramonde / and of the tornay
that was cryed,10 to thentent to haue slayne
Huon. Capitulo .lxxxviii.
1 for. a fauoured. 3 pittie.
4 Fol. lxvi. back, col. 1. 6~6 violent and. • as.
* that 8 and. • bestowed. 10 proclaimed.
Digitized by
278
huon of burdeux. [Ca. lxxxviii
Duke Raoul
announces his
intention to vUit
his uncle the
Emperor of
Almayne,
and secretly
resolves to hold a
great tournament,
to which Huon is
to be induced to
come to meet his
A messenger is
sent to the
Emperor asking
him to arrange
the tournament at
Mayenoe,
and he does at ha
is requested.
Raoul assembles
his barons and
makes them
swear to compass
the death of
Huon,
Hu8 duke Eaoull retournyd to the cyte
of Vyen ryght pensyue, and sent for
his preuey counsell, & than he cow-
maundy d them to assamble as myche1 4
people as they coude, by cause he
sayde that he wolde goo to his vncle
themperour of Almayne / to whom he sent a secret
message that he shold cause the tournay to be cryed* in 8
sum conuenyewt place, to thentent that the knyghtes
of Almayne and of other countrees sholde assemble
there. The false traytoure dyd it for a craft, to then-
tent that Huon by his prowes and hardenes sholde 12
come to that tournay. The messenger rode forth tyll8
he came to Strabrouge, where as he founde themperour,
who was vncle to Eaoull, for he was themperours bro-
thers sonne / whan themperour herde the message he 16
was ioyfull / 4 whan he herd those4 newes fro his
neuewe duke Raoull, whom he loued entyerly / and to
do hym pleasure he sent to all londes vnder his obey-
saunce, to all knyghtes and 6squyers suche as of custome 20
were wont to iust and tournay, desyrynge them to come
at a day assygnyd to the cyte of Mayence, for there he
wolde kepe open courte. 6 themperour knewe not for
what entent his neuew Eaoull had deuysyd that 24
tournay. Alas ! he dyd it7 to fynde8 place to slee Huon,
to thentent to haue his wyfe Esclaramonde. Than
duke Eaoull on a day assembled his barons, specyally
suche as he had parfyte trust in / he shewed them at 28
length9 y* cause why he had assembled all that8 people /
to go to the tournay. ' Therfore, syrs,10 I wyll that ye
sware to me the deth of Huon of Burdeux / for I wyll
that ye & I togyther11 put 12to our payne12 to slee hym / 32
1 many. 1 proclaimed. 8 vntill.
4—4 and not a little pleased to heare such.
6 Fol. Ixvi. back, col. 2. 6 Now. » but.
0 large. 10 quoth he. 11 omitted.
12-12 „]] our vttermost
the.
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Google
Ca. lxxxviii.] of the plot against huon. 279
& than I wyll wed his wyf e, of whom I am so amour- and to aid him in
his quest of
ous that I caw not slepe nor take any rest / ye same Eaciaramonde.
tyme that they thus made promyse & sware ye deth of
4 Huon, There was amonge them a varlet with duke one of the Duke'a
servants hud of
Kaoull who in his yougth had serued Huon of Burdeux / old served Huon,
and 1 whan he vnderstode2 yf Huon came to the tournay,
howe3 he sholde be murderyd / as preuely as he coude /
8 he departyd fro Vyene, & neuer restyd tyll4 he came to and goes to
the cite of Burdeux, where as he founde duke Huon in htm of the plot
his palays with his lordes, who had been6 aduertesyd againrt h,B Ufe*
that there sholde be6 a great tournay at Mayence in
12 Almayne / and he deuysyd with his lorde* 7 to go Huon
thether. The same tyme thether came 8 the varlet,8 who9 Rom* to Mayence
humbly salutyd duke Huon, who sayd to hym, 1 frend, arrives,
where hast thou ben so longe ? ' ' Syr/ quod the varlet,
16 ' I come now fro Viene in Austrych, and10 duke Kaoull
who is lorde there11 hathe cryed12 a tournay in euery
countre, anil,13 syr, yf ye go thether ye shalbe slayne / and reveals the
., , „ , i » danger which
for tnys towrnay is deuysyd for none other ente?it / for14 threaten his old
master.
20 by cause it is15 well knowen that there can be no hye
dedes of armes done in any place / but that ye wyll
be16 at it. and whan they haue slayne you ye duke
Kaoull wyll haue 17 the duches your wyfe in mariage;
24 therfore, syr, for goddes sake aduyse you well that ye
come not there, in as moch as ye loue your lyfe / for ye
can not scape / there be a .xx. M men that hath
sworne your deth ; 18 yf ye enter in to the tornay ye can
28 neuer scape the deth / and I haue herde duke Kaoull
swere that when he hath slayne you he wyll kepe all
your londes/ When duke Huon hadde herd the
verlet / he sware by god and made19 promyse that Huon swears to
make Raoul
32 duke Kaoull sholde derely by his fals treason. Then own his treachery.
1 now. 2 that. 3 there. 4 vntill. 6 before.
6 held. 7 how. 8-8 after time. 9 and. 10 where.
u of. 12 proelaymed. 13 but. 14 omitted. 16 too.
18 present 17 Fol. lxvii. col. 1. 18 therefore.
10 a solemn.
Digitized by
280 HUON OP BURDBUX. [Ca. lxXXVUi.
the duchea Esclaramonde kneled downe before Huon &
Eiciaramonde sayd, 41 A, syr,1 I desyre you to forbere your goynge
nS*togohfromnd thyther at this tyme / for I haue herd often reputed2
that thia duke Raoull is pusant & hath grate londes, &3 4
is nephew to themperour of Almayne / and also I haue
herde saye that a falser traytoure there is none lyuynge
in this worlde.' 'Dame,'4 quod Huon, 'I haue well
But Huon u deaf herd you / but by ye lorde that fourmed me to his 8
to her entreaties,
and declares he ymage, thoughe I sholde lose halfe my londes I wyll go6
onoe to slay the se ye traytoure / what weneth6 he to abasshe me with
traitor. ^jg^yjjg^ ] / yf I may mete hym in7 the tornay,
or in ony other place where so euer it be, though he 12
had with him .x. M men of armes, and that I had but
alonely my swerde in my hande, I shall sle him what
so euer sholde fall therof, and let oure lorde god do
with me as it shall please hym; 8 nor 8 I shall neuer 16
haue ioye at my herte tyll I haue slayne hym.' When
the duches herde Huon, how he wolde do none other
wyse, & that she coulde not let him of his enterpryce,
she was sorowfull, and sayde, ' Syr, syn9 it is your plea- 20
sure / reason it is that I muste be content / but yet,
Esclaramonde syr, I desyre you to take with you .x.M. men well
many anned men armyd, to thentent that ye be not founde vnprouyded,
with him, go t^ ^ ^ ^e assayled10 ye may be of 11 pusauwce to 24
resyste your enemyes / & also8 that it 12 may be youre
and offers to go pleasure that I may 12 go with you : & I wyll 13 be armed
with him herself.
withw shelde 8& helme8 & swerde by my syde, & yf I
may mete duke Raoul, I shall gyue hym suche a buffet 28
that I shall stryke hym from his horse, &IS I am so
dyspleased with hym that there is no membre16 in me
but that trembleth for angre /17 I shall neuer haue ioye
at my herte tyll I be reuenged of hym.' When Huon 32
h~l Deare Lord. 8 repeated. 3 besides.
* Madame. 6 to. 6 tliinketh. 7 at omitted.
9 seeing. 10 yet. u sufficient.
u-u will please you to suffer me to. 13 Fol. Ixvii. col. 2.
14 my. 16 for. 16 ioynt. 17 and.
Digitized by
Ca. lxxxviii.] how a pilgrim comes to bordeaux. 281
herde the duches his wyfe he was wel comforted, <&
began to laugh, & sayde, ' fayre ladye, I can1 yon grete
thanke for your wordes, but ye are to farre gone with Haon tciu her
. . her health
4 chyld to ryde armed ; it is a seuen monethes past syn wui not allow
ye were fyrst with chylde ' / then Huon made to be company.
cryed2 in all his londes that euery man sholde be redy Proclamation u
to go with hym to the tornay at Mayence. The dukes ^rteauxbSluug
8 ewtent was anone knowen through8 all the countre, so aocomp^l £ Haon
that it 4 spred a brode that6 the brute therof came to the to Mmyenc**
herynge of duke Eaoull / and, when he herd that Huon Raoni hears of
wold come to the tornay, he was* ioyfull therof / then
12 he sware that he wolde go and se Esclaramonde in the
guyse of a pylgreme /7 then he toke* on a beggers gar- and disguising
ment and9 a stafife & a wallet / he shewed his en tent to piSdm/dod^sto
them of his preuey counselL they wold haue stopped Esdaramonde.
16 his goynge, but they coude not / thus he appareled him
selfe lyke a begger / and with an herbe rubbed so10 his
face and handes that suche as hadde not sene hym11
apparelled coulde not haue knowen hym, he was so
20 foule and blacke.12 he desyred his men to kepe secret
his enterpryce. Then he departyd fro Vyen, & neuer He leare* Vienna
rested tyll he came to the cyte of Burdeux, and so wente Bordeaux.
to13 the palays <few found e Huon amonge his barons, He see* Huon
24 makynge grete chere and feest, for to13 hym was come amonghubaron*»
dyuers lordes and knyghtes, deuysynge of the tornay
that shold be holden at Mayence. Thus Raoull came
before Huon, & desyred hym for the honoure of our
28 lorde god to gyue hym some mete & almes. ' Frende,' and begs for
quod Huon, * thou shalt haue ynough / but I pray the
tell me 15 fro whens thou comes t, and whyther thou wylt
go, & of what countre thou arte of '6 / * air,9 quod Raoul,
32 « I am16 borne of the countre of Berry, but it is .xx. yere
1 giue. 2 proclaimed. s out. 4 being. 6 omitted.
6 not a little. 7 and. 8 putte. 9 tooke. 10 on.
11 otherwise. 12 then. 13 vnto. 14 where he.
16 Fol. lxvii. back, col. 1. 16 was.
Digitized by
282
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. lxxxix.
He tells a 1 jing
■tory of hit
pilgrimage and
previous life.
Hupn receives
him kindly.
passed syn I was there, when I departed thens I was
but yonge, for yf I sawe 1nowe before me1 my father
or mother, I shold not know them ; &, syr, I come fro
beyonde ye see, where as I haue ben prysoner amonge 4
ye sarazyns ye space of .xiiii. yeres in a stronge castell,
where I haue suffred moche dysease of hungre & colde,
& at2 last I scaped by reason of a yonge man to whome
I promysed,3 yf he coude brynge me to Acre in saue 8
garde, that I wolde then gyue hym twenty ducates of
golde / the yong man was couetous to haue the money,
and founde the meanes that he brought me to Acre,
where as I founde a kynnesman of myn who payed the 12
yonge man4 that I5 promysyd6 hym / and also he gaue
me .xv. ducates, the whiche I haue spent with corny ng
hyther.' 'Fronde/ quod Huon, 'I praye to8 god to
ayde the, for yf thou were not soo yll apparelled thou 16
sholdest seme a man of a hye lygnage / for it semeth to
me, yf thou were wel armyd and wepened, and were in
some bysenes, thou were lyke ynough to be fered/
Raoul in his
disguise dines
with Huon and
Esdaramonde.
% How after that duke Raoull had ben at 20
Burdeux in the guyse of a pylgreme to se
the fayre lady Esclaramonde, he retournyd
agayne to Vyen. Capitulo .lxxxix.
> Fter that Huon had longe deuysed 24
with Raoull / he wasshed & sate
downe to dyner,& the duches his wyfe
by him / the?* Huon cowmaunded that
at the ende of the table, ryght before 28
his table, Raoull the pylgreme to be
set, &7 was well serued / but Raoull hadde lytell care
other of mete 8 or drynke, for his thought was of another
*— 1 after mother. s the. 3 that
4 the money the which I had. 6 had. 6 vnto.
7 there he. 8 Fol. lxvii. back, col. 2.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. lxXXix.] OF DUKE RAOUl/S VISIT TO BORDEAUX.
283
mater wherupow he sore studyed / for before him he
saw the noble duches Esclaramonde, of whom he was
so amourous that he coude not wtt/idraw his eyen fro
4 her / for the more he beheld her the more he was ma love for the
enbrased with 1 louo / he thought he neuer sawo before aplJef* *r°W*
800 fay re a lady in all his lyfe / so that for the grete
beaute tlxat was in her / he chaunged ofte?i tymes his
8 coloure, but it coude not be percoyued by cause he was
so blacke & foule with rubbyng of certeyn herbes / &
he sayd to2 him selfe / that who so euer had suche a
lady to his wyfe myght wel make auauwt to be the
12 happyest maw of ye worlde,3 that myght4 haue his
pastyme witli so fayre a lady / & sayii,6 by the lorde *nd he swear* to
8 ' ** * slay Huon and
that fourmed him / though he sholde be dampned in make her hi* own
hell for euer / he wold slee Huon & haue his wyfe in
16 maryage, & all Huons londes to be his for euer. Alas,
that it had not pleased our lord god that at that6 houre
Huon might haue knowera the treason of Raoull / he
sholde then haue bought it ful derely. When ye
20 tray tour had eten and made good chere / Huon gaue Huon, however,
hym7 gowne / shyTte / hosen & shoes / & money for dothing™nd
his dyspewce / Kaoull toke it, he durst not refuse it, m0M'*
bat thanked Huon / & so toke his leue & departed, he
24 durst no lenger tary for fere of knowlege / & as soone
as he coude he departed out of the towne / of hw
iourneys I wyll make no longe rehersall / but he
laboured so longe that he aryued at Vien : then he and he journeys
° J 3 back to Vienna.
28 went to his palays, where as he was well receyued of
his lordes / & they laughed when they sawe hym in
that apparell / then wttAin a whyle after he made hym
redy, & his men, who were a grete nombre, & so soon afterwards
32 departyd fro Vyen, & toke the way to Mayence. for Mayence.
When his vncle, the emperoure of almayne, was aduer-
tysed of his comynge / he wente & met hym without
1 her. * within. 8 euen he. 4 but 6 swore.
• this. 7 a.
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Google
284
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. XC.
His ancle, the
Kin per or of
Germany,
welcome* him
warmly.
A tournament La
arranged.
ye towne to do hyni the more honour, & when he saw
hym he was ioyefull, & kyssed hym & sayd, 'fayre
nephew, I am glad of your 1comynge; I haue longe
desyred to se you.' ye good emperour knew nothynge 4
of ye treason that his nephew had purchased agaynst
Huon of Burdeux / for yf he had knowen it / to haue
dyed in the quarel he wolde neuer haue consented to
tliat treason, thus hande in hande themperour & his 8
nephew Eaoull entred wttft grete ioye in to ye cyte
of Mayence, where as they were hyghly receyued /
grete ioy was made at theyr comynge ; moch people
were in the towne, come thyder to iust & tourney, and 12
many other to beholde the tryumphe. Now let vs
speke of Huon of Burdeux.
Huon leaves
Bordeaux for the
tournament at
Mayence.
He is strongly
guarded at his
departure,
but he leaves his
companions at
Cologne, and
% How duke Huoa toke leue of the duches
his wyfe, & how he aryued at Mayence & 16
went to the palays. Capitulo .lxxxx.
j Hen Huon saw his tyme to departe fro
lUirdeux to go to ye turney to2 Mayence,
he made redy his trayn, & toke with 20
him .x.M. men of armes for the garde
of his parson of 3 the best horse men in
all his countre / then he toke his leue of ye f ayre Esclara-
monde his wyfe, who began sore to wepe when she saw 24
his departure / ryght swetly they kyssed togyther at
theyr departyng / then he toke his hors & he & his
company departed fro Burdeux / & rested not tyll4 he
cam to Coleyn on ye ryne, ther he taryed .ii. dayes to 28
refresshe him, & on5 y* .iii. day he armed him* &
called his company before him, & said, 1 syrs, I wyl
take leue of you al, for none of you shal go with me. be
nothinge abasshed / for he that alwayes hath saued me 32
i FoUlxviii. eol. 1.
« vntill.
* at.
6 vpon.
8 Fol. Ixviii. col. 2.
• selfe.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. XC.] HOW HUON JOURNBYS TO MAYENCB.
285
out of all perelles wyll not forsake me at thw tynie ' /
when his men herde him they had grete meruayle /
tJiat he wolde take his vyage alone, & he said to1 them,
4 * syrs, haue no doute of me that2 I shal8 dye tyll4 myn
houre be come ' / they of Coleyn enquyred nothynge of
theyr estate, for as then there was no warre, & they Huon't men-at-
arms marvel at
byleued that they wolde go to the tourney / when his hie reeoive.
8 lordes saw he wold 5go alone,5 they were sory that he
wold go to the tourney alone, and sayd one to another,
* we fere gretly he shall neuer returne agayne / & we
shall neuer haue suche another mayster agayne ' / ' syrs/
12 quod Huon, 'ye shall not nede to take ony sorowe
for me / for certaynly I knowe well yf ony peryllous
besynes sholde come to me, that I shold be ayded by Huon pate vain
trust fn king
kyng Oberon ' / but he neded not to haue sayd so, for oberon.
16 when kyng Oberon departed fro him, he bad him not
to trust vpon ony ayde fro hi?n, & therfore Huon was a
fole, & yll aduysed to truste theron, or to vndertake so
peryllous an enterpryce as he dyde, wherby he was in
20 grete peryll of dethe, as ye shall here6 after.
U When Huon was redy he lepte on7 his horse
without ony styrrop, clene armed as he was, & after
stretched him so in his styrropes that ye lethers
24 streyned out thre fyngers ; he was apusaunte knyght,
armed or vnarmed, & gretly to be fered / he toke leue
* of his men & left them wepynge in y*8 cite of Coleyn /
then he rode towardes ye cite 9 of Mayence ;10 so longe The knight rides
28 he rode that he had a syght of the cyte, & then he sawe °n * Mayenc*'
aboute in the medow many tentes & ryche pauylyons,
pyght vp with pomelles of fyne golde shynyng agaynst
the sonne / Huon behelde them well, & so passed forth
32 & entred in to the cite, where as he sawe euery strete full
of knyghtes & squyers abydynge11 y* daye of12 turney
1 vnto. 2 for. 8 not 4 vntill. thus depart
• here. 7 vpon. 8 that 9 Fol. lxviii. baok, col 1.
10 and. 11 there vntill. -2 the.
286
HUON OF BCTRDEUX.
|Ca. xcL
and arrives at the Huon passed forth tyl1 he came to y* palays, where as
^^rorandwt he fouwde themperour & his nephew raoul, whom Huon
•uy!ng.ar* loued hut lytel, as he shewyd wel shortly after, as ye
shal here / when Huon was come before the palays he 4
sawe themperour & Raoull his nephew goynge vp y*
stayres, then Huon met vrith a gret almayn, & sayd to
him, ' frende, I pray tliee shew me what be yonder
two prynces that goth vp ye stayres, & that so moch 8
honour is done to them.' / 4 sir/ qiiod he, 4 ye fyrst is
themperour, & he that foloweth is his nephew, duke
Raoull / he was sone to themperours brother / the turney
that shall be made is done for the loue of him, & at his 12
Dukeiuoui.he request, & after the tourney he thynketh to mary a
learns, is looking
forward to grete lady, whose name shall not be knowen tyll the
greaUady!°me turney be done ' / when Huon herde that he blusshed in
the face for the gret yre that he was in, for he knew 16
Huon know* of wel that Raoull, if he coude fynde ye meanes, 2 he wyll*
his design on his, . , . , . _ .
wife, haue fro him his wyfe the fayre Esclaramonde / but
he promysed in his mynde that fyrst he shoide derely
by her / * frende,' quod Huon, 4 1 desyre you8 do so 20
moche for me as to holde my horse tyl1 I returne
and enters the agayne out of the hal, & that I haue spoken with y*
hail of the palace. emperour ^ j^es j « syr,' quod the squyer
with a good wyll, 4 1 shall here holde your hors tyll1 ye 24
come ' / now god ayde Huon, for or4 he myght retourne
he was in grete peryll of deth, as ye shall here.
% How Huon slew duke Raoul in the
presence of themperour syttyng at his 28
table / and of the meruayles 5 that he dyd,
& how in the chase that was made after
him he strake downe themperour and wanne
his good horse. Capitulo lxxxxi. 32
1 vntill. would. 8 to. * ere.
6 Fol. lxviii. back, col. 2.
Digitized by
Google
Ca, xcl] of huon's appeal to the emperor. 287
Uon, who was full of yre & dys-
pleswre, went vp in to the palays &
came in to ye hall, where as he founde
moche1 peple; there was themperour,
who had2 wasshed his hande*, &
was set at the table / Hnon preased
forth before the table with his swerde in his hande, &
8 sayd, ' noble emperoure, I coniure the by y* grete vertu Hnon lays his
case before
deuyne, & by your3 parte of paradyce, &4 that your the Emperor,
soule5 to be dampned yf case be that ye say not the auname*.
trouth & gyue trewe iugemewt with out falshode, nor
12 to spare to say the trouth for no man lyuynge, though
he be your nere6 parent ' / ' frende,' quod themperour,
'say your pleasure, & I shall answere you* / 'str/
quod. Huon, 'yf ye had7 weddyd a lady, & loue her
1 6 derely, & that she be fay re / good / swete / & sage / &
replete with all good vertues / & that ye knowe surely
that she loueth you entyrely as a good true wyfe ought
to loue her lord & husbowde, & the/* a traytoure
20 pryuely to purchase your dethe for loue of your wyfe /
& yf by aduenture after ye fynde him in ye felde /
or in towne, medowe / or wood / in palays / or in hall,
& that ye myght accowplysshe your thought & your
24 desyre agaynst the same tray tour who dyd purchase
the sayd treason agaynst you / I demaunde then of you
yf ye wolde slee hiw* or not?' / ' frende,' quod The Emperor
themperour, ' ye haue coniured me ; I shall answere you traitoTpunrain^
28 to the trouthe / not for ye valewe of x cytes I wyll not lo^Andi^7
lye /8 knowe for trouth yf I had a wyfe, such9 one as SuS>
ye speke of / adorned with such fayre vertues,10 wherof S^en!1
there be many suche / how be it, yf I had suche one as may 1)6 found'
32 ye resyte, & that I knewe surely that she loued me
enterly / then 11 yf I knewe any man lyuynge that wolde
1 many. a newly. 3 hopefull. 4 or. 6 is.
6 neerest 7 haue. 8 therefore. 9 a. 10 and.
11 Fol. lxviii. col. 1 (this should be lxix, Ixviii repeated).
Digitized by
288
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca, xcL
Huon then
accuses Raoul of
working aril
against him and
his wife,
and drawing his
sword, cuts off
Raoul's head.
purchase me suche a treason / thoughe he were my nere
parent, yf I myght fynde him, in what soeuer place it
were 1in1, and though I shold be slayne in the quarell,
there shold nother2 chyrche,8 aultre, 1nor crucyfyx1 4
that aholde saue his lyfe / but that with my two handes
I shold slee him ; and also my herte sholde serue me
further / that after I hadde slayne hym / I wolde
drawe out his herte out of his body, and ete it for 8
dyspyte.' When Huon herde the emperour, he sayd /
'o, ryght noble and vertuous emperoure / iust and
trewe iugement ye haue gyuen / the which I repeale
not / but I shall shewe you what hath moued me to 12
demaunde of you this iugement / yf suche a case sholde
a* fallen to5 you / and, syr, to ye entent that ye shall
know ye trouth what hath me moued tjius to do / 1syr,1
ye may se here before you he that wolde do* lyke case 16
agaynst me, which is your neuewe Raoul / who hath
purchased my deth lyke a cruell and a false traytoure,
to the entent to haue Esclaramonde my wyfe, and all
myne herytages / the iugement that ye haue gyuen is 20
iust and trewe / ye shall neuer be blamed in any
courte / but ye shall therm be named a noble pry nee /
and therfore, syr, 7 1 haue founde7 so nere me 1he1 that
purchase th 8 my dethe & shame / I sholde neuer be 24
worthy to appere in any prynces courte without I were
reuenged of hym / and I had rather dye then to forbere
him any lenger ' / ther with he drew his swerde /9 when
Raoull sawe the clerenes of the swerde he was a frayde, 28
bycause he was vnarmed / how be it, he thought that
Huon wolde not haue ben so hardy as to do hym any
hurte in the presence of his vncle the emperoure ; but
when he sawe that Huon dyde lyft vp his swerde to 32
stryke hym, he was in greate fere, and nedde to the
Emperoure to saue his lyfe / but Huon parceyued hym
*— 1 omitted. 2 be. 8 nor.
• in. 7-7 hairing found him.
* haue.
• for.
6 vnto.
• and.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xci.] of huon's fight in the palace.
289
so quycxkely that he strake hym with a reuerse* in
sache wyse that he strake of his heed from his sholders,
and the body fell downe before the Emperoure / and
4 the heed fell on8 the table in the dysshe before the
Emperoure, wherof he hadde great doloure / ' god gyue
me good lucke/ quod Huon ; 1 this traytoure shall neuer
be amourous of my wyfe,4 I am sure ynough of hym.'
8 The emperoure, who satte at the table, hadde grete The Emperor is
sorowe at his herte when he sawe his neuewe deed seTh^n^hew '
before hym / then he cryed alowde and sayde, ' Syrs, ,lmin,
ye my barons, loke that this kuyght scape you not ; I and bids his
v . * ~ « guard* seize
12 shall neuer ete nor drynke tyll6 I se hym hanged. I Huon.
sholde haue greate sorowe at my herte yf he sholde
escape.'
Huon vnderstode him wel, and fered hym but lytell /
16 but with his swerde he layde on rounde aboute hym Huon is furious,
and strake of armes, handes, and legges, so that there efeht or^emm
was none so hardy that durst approche nere to hym ; he him.1*1 ***** 01
alewe so many that it was ferefull to beholde hym /
20 within a shorte space he hadde slayne mo then eyght
and twenty / and the emperoure was in suche fere that
he wyst not how to saue himselfe for the grete
nieruayles that he sawe Huon doo / he douted bycause
24 he was vnarmed / and Huon cryed & sayd, i tray tours,
I doute you nothynge.' then on all party es Almayns
& Bauyers assay led Huon / but he defended hym6 by
suche force and puyssaunce, that by the murder that
28 he made the bloode ranne vpon y* pauement lyke a
Huon, who sawe well that he coulde not longe endure
32 without7 paryll of dethe / strykynge with his swerde
rounde aboute hym / he withdrewe backe downe the
stayres of the palayes, and none durst approche nere
* Fol. lxviii. col. 2. 2 stroke. s vpon. 4 for now.
* vntill.
CHARL. ROM. VIII.
6 himself.
* great.
U
290
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[G
2L. XC1.
A ooasln of
Raoul challenge*
him on leaving
the palace.
They fight
together fiercely,
but the German
fiUU from his
•addle, and ie
killed.
Huon is beset on
ail sides.
and does marvels
with bis sword.
him bycause they were vnaraed, and for feere of him.
Huon, by his hye prowes for al his 1 enemy es, came to2
his horse and mountyd on3 hym, and so yssued out /
and there was a knyght called Galeram, who was cosyn 4
germayn to duke Raoul, and he was clene armed and
mounted on a good horse / and he folowed Huon, and
sayde, <4horeson and thefe,4 thou hast slayn duke
Raoull, my cosyn; without thou tourne to2 me I shall 8
stryke the behynde.' "When Huon herde hym he sware
he had rather dye then to refuse too tourne too2 hym /
800 5 he tourned, and they couched theyr speres / and
mette so fyersly togider that they gaue eche other 12
meruaylou86 strokes / Galerames spere brake all to
peces / and Huon, who had employed all his force and
vertu, strake Galeram on8 the ahelde with his spere /
the whiche was bygge and stronge / soo that Galeram 16
fell out of the7 sadle so rudely that in the fall he brake
his necke, and so lay deed on3 the erth ; & Huon, who
thought he had not ben deed, returned agayne to hym /
but when he sawe that he stered not / he departed 20
thense / but he taryed very longe / for he sawe well
he was closed in rounde aboute, and sawe wel without
god had pyte of hym he was not lyke to scape without
deth or taken prysoner / they cast on hym dartes and 24
swerdes; one with a sharpe swerde cam to2 hym and
gaue hym a grete stroke / but his 8harneys8 saued his
lyfe, for all the strokes that he9 receyued he neuer
remoued out of his sadelL Whan Huon saw in what 28
daiwger he was in10 / he called vpon oure11 lorde god,
humbly prayenge hym to delyuer hym out of that
paryll / with his swerde he dyde meruayles / he slewe
and claue hedes to the brayne ; 12 he semed rather a 32
1 Fol. lxviii. back, col. 1.
-* Abide, Villaine. 6 then.
8—« good armour. 9 had.
" the. m that.
2 TO tO. 8
6 great.
vpon.
* his.
10 omitted.
Digitized by
Ca. xci.] of huon's marvellous prowess.
291
spyryte of hell then a man, for he that had sene hym
wolde haue sayde that he had ben noo mortall man / he
sawe passe by hym a knyght of Almayne / called syr
4 Hans Sperguer / as he passed by / Hxxon gaue hym
suche a stroke that he claue hym 1 to the gyrdell, wherof
the Almaynes were so abasshed that none durst
approche nere to hym, they fered him so2 sore. Alas
8 that his men at Coleyne had not knowe;* what case he
was in / they were to3 farre of / Hnon, who fared lyke He attacks hu
a wylde boore ; he layde on rounde aboute hym so that wli™boar, ° *
his swerde was all bloody of ye men that he had slayne
12 and maymed / they cast dartes at him, so that at last
his horse was slayne vnder hym, wher of he was sorow- but his home
full ; how be it, lyke a coragyous knyght, with his him.
swerde he4 foughte valyauntly with his enemy es /ft he
16 sa we where the erle of Seyne com to hym to haue
stryken hym with his swerde, but Huon mette with2
hym so hastly that he had no layser to stryke hym,
and Huon gaue hym suche a stroke that his heluie
20 coulde not saue his lyfe / for Huons swerde entred in
to his brayne, and so fell downe deed amonge the horse
fete / Huon, who was quycke and experte, toke the deed He soon obtains
knyghtes horse and lept vpon hym / and when he sawe ° e
24 that he was new horsed agayne he was ioyfull, and
then he was able to departe in the spyte of all2 his and rides away,
enemies / but themperour, who had gret sorow at his
herte for the deth of his neuew Kaoull, made grete
28 haste after Huon with .x. thousande men with hym, The Emperor
pursues with ten
and so came fro Mayence6 on the sporres, desyryng to thousand men.
ouertake Huon / and so rode on before his men, for his
horse was so good that he wold rynne as fast as a and follows as
fast as a bird
32 byrde coude flye / in al ye world there was no horse mes.
lyke to2 hym / the emperoure on this hor3o folowed
Huon / & as he rode he sawe all the waye deed men lye
1 Fol. lxviii. back, col. 2. a omitted. 8 so.
4 still. 6 and. 8 all.
U 2
Digitized by
Google
292 HUON OF burdeux. [Ca. xci
Huon it that Huon had siayne / he sporred his horse that anone
overtaken,
he oner toke Huon, and sayd / ' thou traytoure, tourne
and the Emperor thy shelde towardes me, or elles my spere shall go
rows hi. death. J
through thy body, for ye sorowe that lyeth at my herte 4
for loue of my neuewe, whom thou hast siayne, con-
strayneth me to make hast to be reuenged 1vpon2 thee,
nor I shal neuer haue ioy at my hert tyl8 I haue siayne
the / moche it greueth me that I am constrayned to 8
slee the with my spere, for I had rather hange the.'
When Huon herde themperour, who was so nere hym,
and saw howe he was mounted on so good a horse / he
called vpon our lorde god, and desyred hym of hys 12
grace to ayde hym to conquere that horse / and when
he sawe that the emperour was farre before his men /
The knight turns he tourned his horse heed towardes the emperoure,
enemy! hU and couched his spere / and the emperour came agaynst 16
hym lyke the tempest / and they mette togyder so
rudely that theyr sheldes* were persed, so that the
emperours spere brake all to shyuers / and Huons spere,
which5 was6 rude and stronge,7 strake the emperour 20
The Emperor u with suche puyssauwce that he was strykea fro his
stricken to earth, 1,-1
horse to the ertn sore astonyed, so that he wyst not
where he was / and Huon, who had greate desyre to
haue the emperours horse, alyghtyd quyckely fro his 24
and Huon, seizing owne horse, and toke the emperours horse and mounted
takes to flight.' on hym, and was therof ryght ioyous / then he sayde
to hymselfe that he douted not them all / he strake the
good horse with the sporres, and founde hym quycke 28
and lyght vnder hym / then he lefte the emperoure
lyenge on the erth, and8 was not* contente that he was
The Germans 800 soone socoured / for yf the Almaynes hadde not
sorereign like to quyckely come Huon had siayne him /10 when the 32
die,
Almayns cam to theyr lord, and founde hym lyeng on
1 Fol. Ixix. col. 1. 8 of. 8 vntill. 4 speares.
6 omitted. 6 so. 7 that he. 8 who.
9 a little. 10 but
Digitized by
Ca. xciL] OP the emperor's threat.
293
the erth, they beleued1 he had ben deed / they began
to make grete sorow, and the emperour, who was come bat he mires,
agayne to hym selfe, sayde / ' syrs, thanked be god I
4 fele no hurte but I maye well ryde / but I haue grete
sorowe at my herte that Huon hath thus ledde awaye and grieves for
my good horse, and is scaped awaye, and also hathe hone,
slayne my two neuewes / but, syrs, I counsell you
8 that none folowe hym, for it shall be but a loste Hyme
for the good horse that is vnder hym, and he that is on
hym is3 valyaunt in armes /4 he is gretely to be douted /
therfore I counsell let vs retourne backe agayne / for
12 we may lose more thew we shall wynne / but by the The Emperor
declares that
grace of god, or5 it be thre monethes past, I shall within three
assemble suche a nombre of men that the valays and win be in his
mountaynes shall be full of men / then wyll I goo to
16 the cyte of Burdeux, and wyll not departe thens tyll I
haue wonne it, and yf I may gette Huon I shall make
hym dye of an yll6 deth, & shall take and wast all
his londes.'
20 % How Huon, after7 he was mounted on8 the
emperours good horse, he aryued at Coleyne,
where as9 he founde his men, and how he
departyd thense / and of the emperoure
24 who lay 10in a busshement10 in a wode,
abydynge11 to haue slayne Huon.
Capitulo .lxxxii. [= xcii.]
1 verily. 2 Fol lxix. col. 2. 8 so. * that.
8 ere. • euill. T that 8 vpon. • omitted.
10-10 enambuahed n there.
Digitized by
Google
294 HUON OF burdeux. [Ca. xciL
Hus as ye haue herde, Huon departed
with ye emperours good horse and lefte
the emporour lyenge on the erth, who
commauwded his harons to returne 4
backe & not to folowe Huon any
further / ther with there cam to the
emperour a knyght called Goduw, he was home at
a knight proposes Norembrege, & he sayde / *syr, yf ye wyll beleue me 8
that an ambush _
■hau be prepared & do after my counsell ye shall do otherwyse / ye shall
near cologne, retouxne to Mayence this ni^ht & ordayne foure C1 of
suche me?i as ye haue here / & sende them with in two
legees of Coleyn, on ye hye way in to Fraunce, & there 12
ye shall fynde a lytell wood, 2and there letto them lye
3 in a hus8hemente8 tyll Huon passe by them / for I
knowe well he wyll go strayte to Coleyne this nyght, &
lodge in a frenche mans house that dwelleth there / 16
and in the mornynge surely he wyll departe thens and
so passe by the said busshement, so that it shall not be
and that Huon be possyble to saue hym selfe alone / but other he shalbe
there slain on Ids
journey. slayne or taken.' When the emperoure herde Godun, 20
The Emperor he sayde / 4 8yr, ye haue gyuen me good counsell, and
rejoices In tills
counsel, this is lykely to be done / but it were conuenyent to
sende mo then foure thousande / for the grete desyre
that I haue to gete hym in to my handes constreyneth 24
me to cause hym to be taken, to the entent to be
and declares that reuenged of hym / therfore I wolde go myselfe and
he, with ten . .
thousand men, take with me x thousande men, and shall goo and lye
in the place that ye haue apoynted / for I shall neuer 28
haue parfyte ioye at my herte as longe as Huon is
alyue / for he hath caused moch sorowe at my herte for
the deth of my two neuewes, whom so pyteously he
hath slayne. let vs take oure waye a4 two legees besyde 32
Coleyne, nerer we wyll not approche, too the entent
that our comynge be not knowen ' / then he chase out
1 Thousand. * Fol. Ixix. back, col. 1.
*-* enambushed. 4 about
will carry out the
Digitized by
Ca. xcii.] how the emperor lays an ambush.
295
.x. thousande of the moost valyauntes men in his
company, & the rest he sent backe to Mayence. Thus
the emperour rode forth and rode so longe that daye & The Emperor
reaches the little
4 nyghte / that an houre, or it was daye, he came to the wood new
Cologne, and lies
said wode, & there layde his busshement.1 And Huon in ambush.
rode2 after he was departed fro themperour that late in
the euenynge he came to Coleyne, wher as he was Huon meets his
companions again
8 receyued of his men with grete ioye / then Gerames at cologne,
said, ' syr, I requyre you shewe vs of your aduentures * /
then Huon shewed them euery thynge, & the maner and teUs them hu
adven tores.
how he had slayn duke Raoull, & how he departed fro
12 Mayence, & how he was pursued / and how he wanne
thefftperoura good horse / then3 Gerames & all the other
had gret ioye, and 4 thanked god of his fayre aduenture,
& had grete meruayle howe he scaped / but they knewe
16 nothynge what the emperour was aboute to do, nor that
he was in the woode abydynge6 for Huon / that nyght
Huon and his company were at Coleyne makynge good
chere /6 the nexte mornynge they herd masse7 / then The following
20 they mounted on theyr horses and yssued out of the wuh^thfr^n"'
towne ; they were to ye nombre of .xiii. M. hardy fyght- tawtne dtj*.
ynge men. and, when they were out in the feldes, Huon,
lyke a good man of warre, sayd / 1 syrs, I desyre you
24 let vs kepe togyther and ryde lyke men of warre, to the
entent that we be not sodeynly taken ; ' and so they
dyde / the daye was fayre & clere ; they myght well be
parceyued a farre of / as they were by the emperour of
28 Almain, who lay 8 in a busshement8 for Huon. the
emperoure spyed them fyrst, and sayd to his company / The Emperor sees
them from afar
'syrs, yonder* I se moche10 people comynge 11 to vs approaching the
warde11 / they seme12 men well experte in armes ; neuer wood'
32 byleue me but they be frenche men, and he that is theyr
1 ambush. 2 bo. 8 wberat. 4 Fol. lxix. back, col. 2.
6 there. 6 and. 7 seruice. *— 8 enambushed.
9 a farre off. 10 many. n~li towarde va.
12 vnto me.
Digitized by
296
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca, xciii.
and marvels at captayne is Huon of Burdeux / he is not come hy ther
the number of , ,
armed men. lyke a small parsonage, but he is hyghly accompanyed
lyke a grete and a myghty prynce. I se well he is
valyaunt by that he hathe doone ; he is so noble and 4
hardy that none may be compared to hym. ye haue
well sene howe that he all alone came in to my palayea,
and there slewe my neuewe duke Raoull, wher with my
He fean to do herte is in grete dyspleasure / he is gretely to be 8
battle with Huon
and hie troope, douted, for without god helpe vs we shall haue ynoughe
to doo with hym / wolde to god that he and I were at
accordement & agreed / for he is so noble and so
valyaunt that he f ereth no man / ye haue well sene syn 1 2
he departed fro Mayence he hathe slayne mo then .xl.
of my men, and hath borne me to the erthe / and he
hath taken fro me my good horse, wherby he maye be
well assured that there is no man shall take hym yf he 16
1be on* his backe / how be it, we must set on2 hym,
for my herte shall neuer be in ease as long as he lyueth /
but org* hiiown therfore, strs, I desyre you euery man this day shewe
men to bear
themteires the loue that ye bere to8 me & the saue garde of youre 20
lyues / for to flye away auayleth not / therfore, syrs,
set on togyther, and do so that we may haue the fyrst
crye.'4
f Of the gret batayle within two legees of 24
Coleyne bytwene the emperour of Almayn
& Huon of Burdeux, & of the trewes that
was taken bytwene them.
Ca. .lxxxiii. [= xciii.] 28
1 Fol. lxx. col. 1. * vppon. 3 vnto. 4 aduantage.
Digitized by
Ga. xciii.] how huon's men do battle with the emperor. 297
and on the spere poyntes, wherby he parceyued clerely2
8 that ther was moch people hyden in the wood / he
shewed them to 8Gerames and to his other company /
and sayd, 1 syrs, be in a suerte that without batayle we and prepare hu
army for battle.
can not scape / here is themperour who lyeth in awayte
1 2 for vs. I desyre you let vs do so that he shall haue no
cause too make ony auaunt of vs / yonder ye may se
them how they set them selfe in ordre to abyde vs,
therfore let vs quyckly set on them ' / & soo they dyd
16 in suche wyse that with4 rynnyng of theyr horses y*
erth trymbled, & the sonne lost his lyght by reason of
the pouder that rose vp in to the ayre on5 both partes /
Huon, who ranne before on his pusaunt horse / behelde
20 Godun, who was formost of 6 his company ; he ranne at Huon made the
first onset, and
hym with a strong spere, so that he ran hyra clene §iew manj vaiiar
through the body so that he fel downe deed7 to the
erth / & with the same spere Huon met Crassyn
24 polynger who bare themperours baner / Huon strake him
so fyersly that he bare horse & man & baner al to the
erth,8 wherof the almayns and Bauyers were sorowfull /
Huon dyde soo moche or9 his spere was broken that he
28 fyrst bare fyue to the erth so that they hadde no power
after to releue them selfe / ther were many speres
broken, and many a knyghte borne to the erth that1
there dyed among y* hors fete / for the father coude
32 not helpe the sone / nor the sone coude not helpe the
father / and many an horse ranne a brode in the felde
Yon, who rode before his barons
deuysynge with olde Gerames, re-
garded on his ryght hande towardes
the lytel wood;1 he sawe in the Huon perceives
his foemen in the
wood grete clerenesse by reason of wood,
the sonne shynynge on the helmes
* and.
4 the very.
2 plainly.
6 from.
8 ground.
8 Fol. hex. col. 2.
6 in. 7 omitted.
9 ere.
298 huon op burdeux. [Ca. xciii.
and theyr maysters lyeng deed in the bloode and myre.
Huon, who rode aboute in the batayle sleynge and
woundynge his enemyes, behelde on his ryghte syde
Th# E«ri Savwjr and sawe the erle Sauary sleyng many of them of 4
works much
haroc among the Burdeux. 'A, good lorde/ quod Huon, 'yf yonder
knyght reygne longe / he shall do me grete domage.'
Then he rode to hym / & gaue hym suche a stroke
but Huon gives with his swerde so that he strake of his shulder and 8
him a fatal
wound. arme so rudely that it fell vpon the erthe /.so that for
the greate payne that the erle Sauary endured he fell
from his horse / 1 & there was slayne amonge the hors
feete, wherof themperour, who was therby, was2 ryght 1 2
8orowfull when he saw another of his nephewes slayn /
Huonand the & sayd, 'a, Huon, of god be thou cursed, syn thou hast
Emperor meet on , .
the field of battle, taken3 so many of my frendes ; I shall neuer haue loye
in my hert tyl I haue the in my handes to hange the* / 16
and wtteriy * syr/ quod Huon, * or4 ye haue taken me, ye are lyke to
reproach each
lese mo of your frendes, & beware of your selfe that ye
come not in5 my handes / by youre nephewe Eaoull ye
haue all this domage, who by his falsenes thoughte to 20
haue betrayed me & to haue had my wyfe / yf I haue
slayne your nephewes and your men, I haue done it in
defendyng myn owne body ; I say to you yf ye be not
wel ware of me I shall brynge you to that poynt that 24
it shall be harde for you to be caryed awaye in a lytter.'
'Huon,' quod the emperoure, 'the grete hate that I
haue to the for the dethe of my nephewes, 6wherby I6
fele suche7 doloure at my herte that I had rather dye 28
then that I sholde not be reuenged of the / therfore
beware8 of me, for I shall nother ete nor drynke tyll I
haue the other quycke or deed ' / then they two wente
backe to take theyr course togyther / but or4 they met 32
y* almayns came rynnynge thyther for* fere that they
hadde of lesynge of 2 theyr emperoure / and on the other
1 Fol. lxx. back, col. 1. 2 omitted. 8 slaine. 4 ere.
6 to. makes me. 7 much. 8 thou. 9 the.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xciiL] how the burghers op cologne arm themselves. 299
parte came thyther ye olde Geramcs, who fought so OMGernme*
fyersly that whom soo euer he strake with a full stroke youUifui vigour,
hadde no nede of ony surgyon ; and his company fayled
4 not for theyr partes / and Huon with his good swerde
opened the thycke prese, soo that the almayns1 douted
hym. Huon with his noble chyualry caused his enemyes
to recule backe halfe a bowe shotte / then there was a
8 knyght of almayn sawe well that without some remedy a German, in
were founde / the emperour & his company were lyke Emperor's safety,
to be slayne ; he went out of the batayle as preuely as
coude, and ronne on y* sporres & rested not 2tyll he cam
12 to Coleyne/then3 incontynent he rode to the prouostes goes to the
house, & founde him in his house newly come fro cotog^°and begs
masse / then ye knight sayd to him / ' syr prouost, yf b^hers.th*
euer ye wyll se the emperour a lyue, cause the coraons
16 of this cyte to be armed, & come, & socoure themperour
hastely / for when I cam from hym he had gret nede of
ayde / ther is Huon of Burdeux, who hath slayn thre of
his nephewes, & this other day he was lodged in this
20 cite, the emperour knoweth well yo knewe nothynge
therof / for Huon had lodged his men in the suburbes,
& in other lytell houses, bycause he wolde not be
perceyued / syr prouost, make hast in this besynes 1 /
24 when the prouost herd what daunger themperoure was
in, he sowned4 the watch belle & made to be cryed in The watch beu
at Cologne Is
euery strete that euery man that was able to here her- sounded.
neys6 sholde arme them / & to6 go out in to the felde
28 to socoure themperoure, who was in grete daunger of
his lyfe / when the burgesses of the towne herde that
crye euery man armed them as well as they coude / some The burgher, arm
' In haste and leave
were harneysed behynde, & some in a Jacke all smoked, the city, twenty
thousand strong.
32 and with staues & other wepens / what a fote & a
horse backe, there went out of ye cyte a6 .xx.M. men /
yf ye had sene y* horsemen, ye wolde haue laughed at
1 greatly. * Fol. lxx. back, col. 2. 3 where.
4 sounded.
* armes.
6 omitted.
300
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xciii.
Very rude i» th«ir
equipment.
The Emperor,
•fter losing
nearly all his mei
In the battle,
eeek* oat Huon,
and challenges
him.
The duel begins.
The Emperor Is
Hang heavily to
the earth, and
lies In a swoon.
them, for it semed they were set a1 horse backe in
dyspyte / there was neuer sene so rude 2& foule a
sorte2 / it was no meruayle / for they 8hadde not ben3
accustomed to ryde in harneys / the prouost rode4 4
before, and exorted theym to do theyr deuours, so they
toke the6 way to come to the batayle, where as Huon &
his company dyde parte of theyr wylles. 6 the emperour
seynge that he began to lese his men and place, he rode 8
serchyng in the batayle for duke Huon / where as he
founde by aduenture Huon, who had7 newly slayn8 the
Emperoures seneschall. When that the Emperoure
sawe hyra slayne, he was ryght sorowful, & in9 grete 12
rage, then10 cryed to 11 Huon, and said / 'ihou knyghte
that neuer arte satysfyed to shedde the bloode of my
men to abate my lygnage and force, I pray the turne thy
shelde to12 me, for yf thou knewest the grete hate that 16
I uhaue to18 the thou woldest neuer appere before me.'
• Syr/ quod Huon, ' 1 14haue grete14 meruayle that ye so
sore hate me & haue taryed so long 16 to be reuenged15 /
therfore, 14 sir,14 beware 14 of me14 / for yf I may16 I 20
shal17 sende you after your nephewes, whom ye say that
ye loue so wel ' / they toke their cours with grete & rude
speres / & so cam togyther lyke y* tempest, & met so
rudely that y* buckles of theyr harneys18 al to brast ;19 24
themperoure spere brake all too peces / but Huons
spere was bygge & rude20 / 21 he strake the emperour
therwith14 by22 such pusaunce that the23 spere ranne
through his shoulder / so that themperoure fell to the 28
erth so rudely that with the fall he brake the bone of
his thygh / wherby he was in suche doloure that he
sowned / and when Huon sawe hym lye on the grounde
1 on. 2—2 a company. *— 8 were not 4 went
6 their. • and. T then. 8 by aduenture. 9 a. 10 he.
11 Fol. lxxii. col. 1 (this should be lxxi, which U omitted),
vnto. l3-13 beare. l4~ 14 omitted. 15-15 for reueng
12 vnto.
16 can,
13-u beare. 14~14 omitted.
w will. 18 Armour. w and.
81 aud therewith, » with. 28 his.
.__ reuenge.
20 stronge.
Digitized by
Ca. xciii] op the emperor's danger.
301
he cam to hym with his swerde in his hande, and
had1 slayne him yf he had not ben socoured / but
there came so many almayns, that whether Huon wolde
Huon would have
■lain the
Emperor, had not
the Germans oome
to his aid.
4 or not, they toke2 and bare 3 the emperoure8 out of the
felde, & layde hym in the wode, &4 demaunded of him
how he dyd / ' syrs,' quod he, * I am sore hurte / for
my thygh is broken, wherby I endure 6 as moch doloure
8 as5 I can abyde / but 6 1 trust as for deth I shall scape
by the grace of god *6 / whew they herde that they were7
ioyfull / and said, 'syr, knowe for trouth8 youre men
are sore abasshed9 / for they be so10 opprest by Huon
12 and his men / that we fere all your men shal11 be
slayne / we shall11 go agayne to the batayle & leue some
with you to 12kepe your body'12 / 'syrs,'18 quod the
emperour, 14 'your force nor your defence can16 auayle
16 you nothynge16 agaynste Huon / nor agaynst his men.
But I shall she we you what ye shall do /17 sende quyckly The Emperor
to Huon and desyre 18of 18 hym in my name to 19sease orHuon Ttrao?
^fyghtynge,20 and 18 desyre hym18 that there maye be a forhalf
20 truse hadde bytwene hym and me for the space of halfe
a yere / 21 in that space I trust21 to fynde some other
treaty / 18 so 18 that he and I myghte be frendes / and y f he
refuse this,22 I se none other remedy but that we shall
24 be all slayne or taken, and then he wyll cause me to dye
in some23 pryson.' 4 Syr,' quod his knyghtes, 1 we shall
doo your commaundement / but we fere sore that we
shall not be herde.' 'Syrs,' quod the emperoure, 'go
28 to hym and do the best ye can.' Then they returned
to y' batayle, where as they fou?ide there company redy
1 would haue. 2 the Emperour. 3-3 him.
4 then. 6— 6 more greefe than.
*-* but, as for death, I trust by the grace of god, I shall
escape it.
* all. 8 that. 9 discomfited. 10 sore. 11 will.
12— 12 looke vnto your Maiestie. 13 Well. 14 but
15 cannot. 16 anything. 17 ye shall. 18— 18 omitted.
19 Fol. Ixxii. col. 2. 2°-20 slaying of my men.
n-n for within that time I hope. 22 then. 23 noysoine.
302
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xciii.
to fle awaye / for they were nere all slayne and taken /
Messengers «et the knyghtes fro themperoure came tc Huon and desyred
out to beg the
true* hym in the name of the emperoure that he wolde sease
the batayle and 1hlowe the retrcyte,1 and they sholde2 4
do lykewyse in the same maner / and that there myght
be a ferme truse bytwene them for halfe a yere / and
in that season they trusted that some good wayes
sholde2 be founde that the emperoure and he myght be 8
good frendes togyther. ' Syrs,' quod Huon / ' if the
emperour your mayster hadde me in that daunger /
that3 he is in / he wolde not suffre me to scape a lyue
Huon willingly for all y* golde in the worlde / how be it, I am content 1 2
aroedw to the ^e naue truse for Baife a yGre / the which I shall
surely kepe on my parte / and yf I be assayled I shall
defende me / and yf so be that he come to Burdeux to
assay le me / by the helpe of god and my good frendes, 16
I shal doo the best that I can / But yf he wyll haue
peace with me & pardon me his dyspleasure / for the
dethe of his nephewes, I shall bo redy to make peace /
and I shal make amendes for all wronges, though I was 20
not the begynner/ Then Huon caused the retreyt to
be blowen,4 and in lykewyse so dyde the almayns
who had therof grete ioye ; it came to them at a good
But, h»d he poynt / for or5 elles all hadde ben slayne or 6folye7 24
murderowittack, when he had the ouer8 hande9 that he pursued not10
woiid nave°been h's chase, for then he myghte haue hai an ende of
wouid*havo been ^ia^ warre> an(l nother shelde nor spore more broken /
Mure trouble. where as after many a man was slayne, and was the 28
cause that the cyte of Burdeux was lost & the fayre
Esclaramond taken & sette in pryson in the cyte
of Mayence, and Huon suffred so moche payn and
trouble / that no mortall man can shewe it / thus as ye 32
haue herde Huon graunted the trewes, and soo bothe
1-1 sound the treatie. 8 would. 8 which.
* sounded. 6 omitted. 8 Fol. lxxii. back, col. 1.
7 foyled. 8 vpper. 9 now. 10 still.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. XCiv.] HOW A TRUCE 18 ARRANGED.
303
partes withdrewe / wherof tliemperour and his company
were ryght ioyf all. Then Huon called his company / Haon t«ui his
company how the
and shewed Gerames and his lordes how he had trace la made.
4 graunted trewes to the Emperour for halfe a yere / 'and
therfore I charge you al not to breke the peace 1 / the
Emperoure was glad when he herde it / for he knewe
well that1 he was2 scaped a greato daunger. Then he
8 charged all his men on payne of deth that they sholde
not breke the trewes. ' And, syrs/ quod he, 4 1 pray
you make redy a lytter that I myght3 be caryed to
Coleyne / for the payne that I fele in my legge causeth
12 all my body to trymble / and when I come there
I wyll tary tyll I be hole/ * Syr/ quod his lordes,
* your commaundement shall be done ' / then they layde Th« Emperor is
J . ' , , borne in a litter
the Emperoure in a lytter, sore complaynynge the losse to Cologne.
16 and dethe of his nephewes and lordes that were slayne,
and his legge greued hym sore. Then Huon said
to Gerames, 1 syr, thanked be god we haue vaynquysshed
the Emperoure & slayne many of his men / therfore it
20 is good that we now returne to Burdeux. I haue gret Huon longs to see
° ° Esclaramonde
desyre to se my wyfe Esclaramonde / who thynkethe4 »s*in.
longe for my comynge ; I am sure she is sorowf ull that
I haue taryed thus5 long/ * Syr/ quod Gerames, * yf ye
24 haue grete desyre to returne, so hath all other of youre
seruawtes; they wold gladly se theyr wyues and
chyldren, and some to6 se theyr louers/
7<fl How Huon grafted the trewes to the
28 emperour, & how the prauost of Coleyne
came and assayled Huon, not knowinge of
ony peace taken.
Capitulo .lxxxiiii.8 [= xciv.]
1 omitted. 1 had. 3 may. 4 thinking. * so.
• would. T Fol. lxxii. back, col. 2. 8 Uxxxiiii in text.
Digitized by
304
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xciv.
Huon see* the
barghers of
Cologne ad-
rancing towards
and inspects the
Emperor of
treachery.
The provost of
Cologne exhorts
the men to fight
well.
r Hen Huon vnderstode ye olde Gerames,
he hadde grete ioy / then he sounded
the trompettes with suche brute thai
meruayle it was to here, and com- 4
maunded euery man to set forwards
towardes Burdeux. Then he behelde on his ryght
hande and saw them of Coleyne comynge in1 grete
nombre / they were well a2 twenty thousande bur- 8
gesses and other / they came with baners dysplayde
redy to fyght. When Huon sawe them, he had grete
meruayle fro whens they sholde come so hastely. Then
he sayde to his men / 'syrs, I parceyue clerely we be 12
be tray de, for yf I had wold3 the Emperour nor his
men coude not haue scaped / he hath falsely betrayed
me, syn vnder y* colour of Hrewes they5 to set newly
vpon me.' Thus Huon sayde by themperour without 16
cause, for he knew no thynge thereof, nor that any
socoures sholde haue come to hym. 'Syrs,' quod
Huon, Mette vs rest here and tarye tyll they come
nerer to vs / than let vs sette on them with suche hast 20
that they shall not know what to do.' 'Syr/ quod
his men, ' haue no dought we shall not fayle you for
fere of any deth / we trust to slee so many that the
erth shalbe couered with the deed bodyes of your 24
enemyes ' / Huon ordred his batayle, and the prouost of
Coleyne comfortyd his men, saynge, 'syrs, our em-
perour is dyscomfytyd by Huon and his men,6 who be
yonder abydynge before vs / they wene7 to departe in 28
saue garde / but they haue no power so to do / for the
moost parte of them are sore hurt, and there horses
sore trauaylled, wherfore they shall the sooner be
dyscomfytyd.' Than the prouost and his men ranne 32
quyckely vpon Huon and his men / there began a feerse
bataylle, wherin many a valyaunt man lay on the erth
2 nere.
6 come.
3 pleased.
6 companie.
4 Fol. lxxiii. col. 1.
7 thinke.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. Xciv.] HOW THE BURGHERS OP COLOGNE FIGHT WITH HUON. 305
deed / and at the1 fyrst brunt ther wer so many slayne Th««tuck \*
made, and the
that y'2 felde was coueryd with deed & hurte3 men; fight begins,
sum were ouerthrowen without any hurte,4 and yet
4 they coude neuer asyse by cause of the6 prese of the
horses that ranne6 ouer them. Huon, who was1 full of
yre by cause he7 thought that vnder the coloure of trewes
he was assaylled / he ran8 at a knyght who had done
8 9gret domage* among his men ; it was he that went to
Coleyne for that socoures / and Huon strake hym clene Huon »uyt the
' ' knight who hnd
throw the bodye with his spere, so that he fell downe summoned u.i*
new army,
deed to the erth. Than Huon cryed his crye to gader10
12 his men togyther / he layde on the ryght syde and on
the lyf t / so that he cut of armes and legges, and rasyd and fights
* . . Airioueljr.
helmes fro y* hedes / he semyd rather a man of y* fayrye
than a mortall man. But he had myche to do / for his
1 6 men, who had fought all y* day, were sore trauaylled &
wery; how 11 be it, they defendyd them selues ryght
valyauntly, & they13 slew so many of the comons of
Coleyne that ye blode ran on the grounde in grete
20 stremes / and themperowr, who was issued out of the The Emperor,
wood in his lytter, whan he came in to the felde / he
herde the brute & crye of the batayle, wherwith he hearing the noise,
, , * m, « , i-iii . !• brought Into
was sore abasshed. Than he demaundyd what noyse it the field,
24 myght be. ' Syr,' quod a knyght, 4 it is the good
prouost of Coleyne, who hath brought with him the *
commons of the citie of Coleyne to ayde and socoure
you.' ' Syr/ quod themperour, ' and he shal derely end i« very
, „ . wrathful with the
28 abye18 it / how be it, I thynke he knoweth not of the provost of
trewes that we haue taken with Huon / for and14 1 knew Col°*™'
that he was aduertesyd therof, I shode cause hym to
dye an yll deth. Go to hym and cowmaunde hym that
32 incontynent he goo to Huon too make amendes for his
1 verie. 8 whole. 8 maimed. 4 at all.
6 great. 6 did runne. 7 had. 8 fiercely.
*-9 verie great hurt. 10 call. 11 Fol. lxxiii. col. 2.
12 omitted. 13 buy. 14 if.
CHA.RL. ROM. VIII. 2
306
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xciv.
trespas / and yf he wyll not do it I charge you incon-
tynent1 sle hym.' Whan themperour had made his
commaundemewt to one of his knyghtes / he role as
The provoit fast as he myght to the prouost, who was ryght sorow- 4
his men meet full for that he hadde lost foure .M. of his comons, and
with* the kuyght slayne that came to hym. Than themper-
oun knyght sayd, 'Syr prouost, ye haue done ryght
yll / syn2 ye haue broken the trewes that was made 8
betwen hym and Huon / yf the emperour may gette
a knight, sent by you ye shall neuer se fayre day more / without incon-
the Emperor, bids .t-i ■, *
him make emends tynent ye go to Huon and dele so with hym that he
breaking the be content, so that no reproche be layde to the em- 12
truce. perour' / whan the prouost and his company herde
themperours commaundement, they were sore abasshed,
The provost, and reculed backe. And the prouost, who was in greto
seeks out Huon, fere for that he had done / and desyrynge to accom- 16
plysshe themperours commaundement, strake his horse
with the sporres, and restyd not tyll he had founde out
duke Huon. Than he lyghtyd a fote, and toke his
sworde, and sayd, 'A, ryght noble and vertues prynce, I 20
and begs him 8desyre the, in the honour of Jesu Cryst, haue pyte of4
him, Sr'nT knew me, and pardon me the iniurye that I haue done6 with-
nought of the ^ ^ knowlege or lycence of themperour, who wyll
cause me to dye a shamfull deth without ye pardone 24
me / for all I knew not of y' trewes betwen you and
ye emperour / for I thought he was6 deed / syT, that7 I
haue done was to thentent to rescue my ryghtf ull lorde,
and therby I haue lost this day moo then .iiii .M. 28
burgesses and comons of the cyte of Coleyno, and y6
most parte of my best frendes, and therfore, syr, I pray
you haue pyte of 4 me, elles themperour wyll sle me or
set me in perpetuall pryson.' 32
1 to. 1 seeing 8 Fol. Ixxiii. book, col. 1. 4 on.
8 against you. • had beene. 7 which.
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Ca. XCV.] HOW HUON R3TURNS TO BORDEAUX. 307
% How Huon aryued at Burdeux, and of the
counsell of the iayre Esclaramonde his
wyfe, the whiche he wolde not beleue nor
folow. Capitulo lxxxxv.
.Han Huon vnderstode y* prouost / he Huon has pity
on the provost,
had gret pyte, & thought that he
ought lyghtly1 to pardon hym, seynge
that that he had done was in a iust
cause, syn2 he was not aduertesyd of3
trewes taken betwen themperour and hym. Than
Huon aproched to the prouost, and sayd, ' frende, aryse
12 vp, I pardon you; this trespas that ye haue done for and pardons him.
your lorde is4 reasonable / syn ye knew no thynge of y*
trewes / ye haue done as a trew subjet ought to do to
his lorde / 1 can not be angrye with you for it.'6 Than
16 the prouost toke leue of Huon, & retournyd to them-
perour, who as than was nere to Coleyne /6 Huon rode Hoon rides to
forth towardes burdeux, and so on a Wednesday to7
dyner he entred in to Burdeux, where as he was
20 receyued 8 with grete solempnyte of the Burgesses, & of
all the clergye of ye cyte. Than he alyghtyd at his
palays, where as he was by the duches Esclaramonde E*ciaramon^#
well receyued with grete ioy, and she demaundyd of warmly?"
24 hym yf he were hole and in good poynt8 'Fayre
ladye/ quod Huon, ' thanked be our lord god, I am in
good helth.' 'Syr/ quod she, 'of your comynge I am
ryght ioyous / & I desyre you to shew mo of your
28 aduentures.' 4 Dame,'10 quod Huon, 'know for trouthe and he relates
I haue ben at Mayence, whereas I founde themperour, adventure*,
and with hym was duke Eoaull his neuew, who had
cryed11 a tournay ; & bycause he was aduertesyd of my
32 cowmynge, his entencyone was that yf he had founde me
1 in reason. * and that 3 the. 4 but 6 the same.
• and. 7 about. 8 Fol. Ixxiii. back, col. 2.
8 estate. 10 Madame. 11 proclaimed.
X 2
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308
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca, xcv.
Huon oontinnM there, He was1 concludyd with his men to haue alayne
his narration.
me / but by the grace of god I haue done so myche, that
in the presence of themperour his vncle, and before2
all them that were there present, I strake of his hede / 4
by cause he made his auaunt that as soone as he had
slayne me he wolde haue you to his wyfe / & also2 all
myn herytage / & whan I had slayne hym I departyd
in hast fro3 Mayence / and it was not longe after but 8
that themperonr folowed me with all his men, mountyd
vp on the good horse that ye haue sene, who is so good
that I beleue surely there is not suche another in all8
the worlde / and themperour, who had grete desyre to 12
reuenge the deth of his neuew duke Raoull, auaunsyd
hym selfe a bowe shote before his cowpanye, and cryed
after me with many iniuryous wordes. And whan I
saw that he was far of fro his men I tournyd towardes 16
hym, & ranne & bare hym to the erth / than I toke
the good horse and mountyd on hym, and lete myne
owne goo / and whan his men saw hym lyeng on the
erthe, they feryd lest he had been deed / they assem- 20
bled about hym, & tooke no hede to folow me, by cause
they knew well it was but a folye to folow me, 4syn5 I
was mountyd on themperoure good horse. Thus I de-
partyd fro them, and went and lay all that nyght at 24
Coleyne, wher as I founde my men whom I had left
there whan I went to themperours courte all alone /
the next day I departyd / but I was not gone farre
out of Coleyne wban themperour and .x M. men met 28
me in the way, where as they had lyene in a lytell
wood in awayte for me. Than they ranne at me & at
my men / there was a grete batayle on both partes, and
many slayne & woundyd. But I dyd so myche by the 32
grace of god & my good company / that I ouercame
them, and I slew two of his neuewes, and I bare
1 lmd. 1 omitted. 8 to. 4 Fol. lxxiiii. col. 1.
6 seeing.
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Ca. XCV.] HOW HUON RECITES HIS ADVENTURES. 303
themperour to the erth / and whan he sawe that the
losse of the batayle ran on his syde, he sent to me
than a messenger to haue trewes for halfe a yere /
4 the whiche I grauntyd bycause I thought I had done
hym dysplesure ynough as in sleynge of thre of his
neuwes. Thus we departyd, & as I1 retournyd I met
ye prouost of Coleyne, who brought with hym .xx M.
8 men to haue rescued themperour, & so we fought
togyther. But as soone as themperour was aduertysed
therof / he sende & coramaundyd hym that he sholde
no more fyght with me. Than the prouost came to me
12 & cryed me mercy for that2 he had done, excusynge
hym selfe that he knew nothynge of y* trewes. Than
we made to sounde the retrayte of both partes. 8 Thus
we departyd without any moo strokes gyuynge, wherof
16 I thanke god that I am thus scapyd.' 'Syr/ quod
Esclaramonde, ' ye ought to thanke god that he hathe
sent you tlutt grace / for I haue herde say that them-
perour4 whom ye haue slayne his two neuewes is greate /
20 puyssaunt / and a ryche prynce, ryght sage and experte
in the warre, wherefore it is to be feeryd that he wyll EscUramonde
fears that the
not let the mater thus to rest.' 'Dame/5 quod Huon, Emperor win
' I know well this that ye say is trew ; I thynke well vmw "trife"
24 he be dys6pleasyd with me for y* deth of his neuewes Huon knows that
and many other of his kyn / thus, as I haue sayd, I unstressed
iustyd with hym two tymes / & at the seconde tyiuo byUi**-cap#
I strake hym to the erthe in such wyse that he brake
28 his thye, so that he was constreynyd to be borne7 in a
lytter / and it hath ben shewed8 me syn / that y* losso
of his good horse greuyth hym more than the losse and the loss of
° " * ola own horse,
of all9 his men. Lady, to shew you the parelles and
32 aduentures that I haue founde10 syn I departyd fro
you, it sholde11 be to longe to shew you. But surely I
1 he. 8 which. 8 and. 4 ot 6 Madame.
• Fol. lxxiiii. col. 2. 7 thence. 8 told.
• omitted. 18 had. 11 would;
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510
HUOti OF BURDBUZ.
[Ca. XCV.
and he has heard
haw the Emperor
has vowed to
destroy the city of
Bordeaux.
Keelaramonde
aays that her
brother will lead
a hundred
thousand men
to bis assistance.
He has been a
christian for five
years past.
She desires Huon
to visit him,
thynke as soone as the trewes be1 expyryd, but2 that3
themperour with all his puyssaunce wyll come and
besege me here in Burdeux, for it hath ben shewed
me of trouthe that8 themperour hath so made his oth 4
and promyse / and hath sworne by his crowne imperyall
that he wyll not departe hense tyll he haue taken and
dystroyed this4 cyte.' ' Syr/ quod Esclaramonde, ' yf
ye wyll beleue me / ye shall 5 well resyte6 this, and I 8
shall tell you how / ye know well I haue a brother
called kynge Salybraunt, who is kynge of Bougye, the
whiche extendyth on the one syde nere too Mombrant,
and on the other syde nere to Trypoley in Barbarye / 12
he may lede in batayle a .CM. men / and, syr, surely
he is a good crysten man,2 how be it, ther be6 but few
that knoweth it / 7 this .v. yere he hathe surely7 beleued
on Jesu Cryst / and, syr, yf ye wyll go to hym, and 16
desyre his ayde by the same token that, whan ye were
prisoner in Baby lone, I dyscoueryd the secretnes8 of
my mynde to hym, and shewed hym of y* loue betwen
you and me / and how ye sholde9 lede me in to Fraunce, 20
wherof he was ioyfull, and desyred me affectuously
that I sholde doo so myche to you / that we myght
come and se hym in his owne realme. But the aduen-
ture fell so that our departynge was10 other wyse than 24
we had deuysyd / he was there & saw how my father
was slayne, & all suche 11 as were with hym / than for
fere he ranne away, & dyd hyde hym in a garden
behynd the palays, and there taryed tyll it was nyght / 28
and than he stalle away, and went in to his owne
realme / there shall ye fynde hym yf ye wyll goo
thy ther / I know surely12 he wyll make you13 good
chere / and wyll not refuse14 to15 socoure you, 16 the 32
* is. * omitted. 3 then. « the. " resist
• are. 7~T verily he hath. • secrets. 9 would.
w fell. " Fol. lxxiiii. back, col. 1. u that
13 exceeding great 14 for. 16 ayde and.
is-i« for hee will bee so exceeding puissaunt and wightie.
Digitized by
Ca. xcvi.] of esolaramonde's counsel.
311
whiche shalbe so grete and puyssaunt16 that he wyll
brynge with hym moo than a .C. M. sarazyns / &,1 syr,
I wolde counsell2 you to take3 with you a4 .v. or .vi and to take with
him priests to
4 prestes5 furnysshyd with oyle and creme / for, as soone christen his men,
as he hath his men oute of his owne countre, he wyll Saracens,
cause them to be crystenyd, and suche as wyll not he
wyll cause them to dye an yll deth. Syr, I requyre
8 you beleuo my counsell at this tyme / for ye know
well6 out of Fraunce ye7 get no socoure / for yf sum Huon can expect
no aid from
wolde they dare not, for dought of kyng Charlemayne ; Prance.
the hate that he hath to you is not yet quenched for
12 the deth of his sonne Charlote, he wyll neuer forget it8 /
and, syr, yf ye go not to my brother for socoure ye may
happe to repent it, and peraduenture it may be to late /
and do as he doth that closyth9 the stable dore whan
16 the horse is stollen.' Thus the fayre10 esclaramonde
exortyd duke Huon her husbonde, whom she loued
entyerly.
How Huon had grete ioye for the byrth of
20 Claryet his doughter. Capitulo .lxxxxvi.
Han Huon had well herd his wy fe he Huon thanks his
sayd, ' my ryght dere lady and com- counsel, but
panyon, ryght well I know the grete
loue that ye bere to me, the whiche
hathe constreynyd you to say thus,
wherof I thanke you. 12 By the lorde that on ye crosse
dyed18 to redeme humayne lynage, I wyll go to no place refuses to set out
28 nor sende for any socoures / tyll14 I se them befor my before Bordeaux
cyte, and that I haue cause to purchace16 for socoures, danger?111**
nor tyll 14 I fele the strokes of y* Almayns and bauyers
that they can gyue whan they be out of there owne
1 also. 1 and aduise. 8 along. 4 some. * well.
• that f shall. 8 omitted. 9 shutteth. » Ladie.
" Fol. lxxiiii. back, col. 2. 11 But. w fur.
w vntill, « labour.
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312
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xcvL
He would be
reproached for
departing now.
Emlararaonde
presses her
husband to
obtain men from
her brother before
the Emperor
arrives,
and tells him
her fear of the
Germans.
Esclaramonde
countre / nor as longe as my shylde is hole1 fyrste, I
thynke they shall fele the sharpnes of my spere hede
and good sworde /2 by godde* grace I shall not abandone
you nor leue my cyte and good burgesses /3 it myght 4
greatly be layde to my reproche, yf I sholde thus goo
away.' ' A, syr/ quod Eaclaramounde, ' ye may well
know that this that I haue sayd is for the fere that I
haue of you / for I haue ben well aduertesyd that 8
themperour sore hateth you, and not without cause, for
his neuewes and lordes that ye haue slayn, and ther-
fore, sir, yf ye wyll beleue me. ye shall 4 haue men to
defende you brought hyther by the kynge my brother / 12
so that whan the emperour is come in to your londe, it
shall lye in you other to make peace or warre at your
wyll / reason it were that ye made hym sum amendes
for the hurtes that ye haue done to5 hym / and on the 16
other parte, yf he wyll haue no peace / than it shall lye
in you to make hym suche warre so that he shall not
departe without your agrement and to his great losse.
syr, the fere that I haue to lese you constreyneth me 20
thus to say / I haue herd often tymes sayd / that the
entre into warre is large / but the issuynge out ther of
is very strayte / nor ther is no warre but it causeth
pouerte. But syn6 it is your pleasure not to beleue me, 24
it is reason that I must be content that your pleasure
be fulfylled.' Than they entred in to other deuyses /
7gret ioye and feest was made in the palayes at Burdeux
betwene Huon and the lordes of the countre. at last 23
the fayre Esclaramond, who was grete with chylde, fell
vpon trauelynge, and she prayed to god 8 and to oure
ladye for ayde & helpe. she was in her chambre,
whereas she8 sufferyd gret payne / wher of Huon had 32
grete pyte whan he herd ther of / for 9 there was grete
1 and sound. * and yet. s for. 4 Fol. lxxv. col. 1.
* vnto. • seeing. T and. *— * for helpe, and.
9-9 the loue betweene them was exceeding great.
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Ca. XCVi.] OF THE BIRTH OP CLARIKTTE. 31 3
loue betwen them9 / at last ye ladye was brought to bed
of a fayre doughter / wher of Huon thanked god / than
entred in to the ladyes chambre a greate nombre of the Ladiei of
fairyland attend
4 ladyes of the f ayrye / & came to Esclaramondys bed the birth of her
daughter,
and sayd, 4 Lady, ye ought well to thanke god / fox ye
haue brought forth y* 1moost1 fay rest and best creature and declare her to
. . . , . _ , _ be the fairest and
that as no w is in the worlde, and to whom oure lord beat mature born
in a hundred
8 god hath grau?ityd moost graces at her byrth / for year*.
2 more fayrer / nor more sage / nor courteys2 hath not
be borne this .C. yeres past / for she shall haue such
desteney and happe3 in this worlde / that of the realme
12 of Arogone she shalbe quene crownyd, and she shall soo
gouerne her selfe that she 4 shalbe 5 a seint in paradice.
At Tortouse ther is the chyrche where !as yet1 she is
honouryd / the whiche is foundyd in her name, and is
1 6 namyd saynt Clare.' Esclaramounde was ioyf ull of the
wordes of these ladyes of the fayrye. 6grete ioy7 was
made 8 in the chambre8 for the byrth of this chylde /
who was gretly regardyd of the ladyes of the fayry, and
20 they sayd eche to other that this chyld was the fayrest
creature of 9 the world / they toke this chyld eche after The fairies thrfoe
other and blyssyd it thre times, and than10 laydo it
doune and departyd sodenly so that no man wyst
24 where they were become, wherof all the ladyes & other
hed grete meruayle. * This tydynges was brought to
Huon, he was ryght ioy ef ull, and sayd / 4 A, syr11 kynge Hnon thinks
that king Oberon
Oberon, I beleue surely that as yet ye haue not forgoten i* stui mindM of
28 me. Now I dought no thyng themperour nor all his Wm#
puyssaunce syn12 ye haue remembraunce of me.' Than
Huon cam in to the hall, and thyder his doughter was
brought to13 hym to se / he toke her in his armes and
32 shewed her to his lordes, who were14 ioy full to se her.
1-1 omitted.
*— 1 a more faire, modest, wise, and courteous. 3 fortune.
4 Fol. lxxv. col. 2. 6 accounted of as if she were.
• and. T and feasting. *— 8 euerywhere. 9 in all.
10 they. 11 worthy. 12 seeing. 13 vnto. 14 very.
Digitized by
314
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xcvii
Tlie babe is
christened
CUriette,
Than she was borne to chyi*che and with grete solemp-
nyte crystenyd / and named Claryet, because she was
soo fayre and clere to beholde. Than she was brought
to the duches, who had of her gret ioy / whan the 4
duches had kept her chambre a moneth, than she was
chyrchyd, wher of all the courte was ioy full, and such
feest was made that yf I sholde shew you the ryches
and noblesse that was there shewed, it sholde be ouer 8
longe to reherse. Therfore I1 leue spekynge therof at
this tyme tyll2 another season.
^ Howe themperour assembled a grete hoste
and came to Burdeux. Capitulo .lxxxxvii. 12
E haue well4 herde here before the
maner & cause why this warre was
mouyd betwene ye emperour of Al-
mayne & Huon, duke of Burdeux, the 16
whiche, after the trewes was expiryd,
and that the emperour was hole of his thygh that Huon
had broken, he publysshyd the warre5 / and sent ouer
all his empyre / that euery duke / erle / baron / 20
knyght / and squyer shold com to hym, and sowdeours
fro all partes, and that within a moneth they to be at
to make war upon the cy te of Mayence, to thentent too make warre vpon
Huon of Burdeux / this commaundement was pub- 24
lysshed / and suche delygence was made that by the
day apoyntyd euery man was com to the cyte of
Mayence, and lodgyd in the cyte and in pauylions about
the cyte / there were assembled no than .lx. M.° men, 28
well aparelyd7 for the warre. whan this emperoure,
who was named Tyrrey, saw them he was8 ioyfull / &
sore thretened Huon, and made promyse before9 all his
barons that he wolde neuer retourne in to his owne 32
The Emperor of
Germany
assembles his
men at Mayence
Huon.
Sixty thousand
men are collected
together.
1 will.
* at largo.
* vntill. 8 Fol. Ixxv. back, col. 1.
* againe. 0 and all. r appointed.
8 verie. 9 to.
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Google
Ca. xcvii.] OF the emperor's army.
315
countre tyll he had fyret slayne Huon, who had done
hym so great domage. Than he commaundyd his con- Thej prepare to
march to Cologne*
stables & marshalled to be redy to departe the next
4 day, & to take the way towardes Coleyne with al his
artylerey and caryage, the which was done. The next
day themperour entred in to the felde and so rode
towardes Coleyne / and whan themperour was within a on the way the
Emperor, whose
8 legge than there met with hym the olde Sauary hys name wm Thierry,
met his brother
brother, who was father to duke Raoull, slayne by savary, father of
dake RaouL
Huon. whan these two brethern met togyther there
was great ioy made.1
12 1T But than duke Sauory began to wepe, & sayd to DukeSavary
* ° 1 weeps for the lose
his brother themperoure, ' Syr, of your comi/ige I am of bia eon.
ryght ioyfulL But when the pyteous deth of my dere
bfeloued sonn your neuew Raoull cometh to my mynJe /
16 there is no membre on me / but for doloure 2 and dys-
pleasure trymbleth / nor I can neuer haue parfyte ioy
at my herte as longe as he that hath done me thys
dyspleasure 8 be alyue.'8 This duke Sauary was a noble He ie not an
untrue traitor,
20 man / but betwene hym and his sonne Raoull was Uke duke Raoui.
great dyfference, for this4 duke Raoull was the u li-
tre west traytoure that euer lyued : the which ylnes5 pro-
cedyd by y* duches his mother / who was doughter to
24 Hurdowyn of Fraunco, the moost untrewest and falsest
traytour that as than lyued in the worlde / whan them-
perour herde his brother speke the water6 fell 7 out of7
his eyen, & 8 embracyd hym, and sayd, ' My ryght dere The Emperor
ooneoles hie
28 brother, your doloure9 dyspleaseth me / for your doloure brother,
is myne,10 therof I wyll haue my 11 parte / and yf ye haue
•ioy my parte shal12 be therin. But it is not possyble
for V8 / to haue hym agayne for whom we make this
32 sorowe ' / god ayde Huon fro his enemyes, for they
greatly desyryd his deth ; yet often tymes they that
1 betwene them. * FoL lxxv. back, col. 2. *-* liueth.
4 the. 5 wickedness. 6 tears. from. 8 he.
• much. 10 and. 11 a, u likewise.
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Google
316
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. xcviii.
The arm j is well
received in
Cologne.
It was a great
host with long
line* of artillery,
and passed over
the Rhone into
the country of
Bordeaux.
desyre another mans deth auaunseth there owne. Thus,
as ye haue herdo, themperour and duke Sauary entred
in to the cyte of Coleyne, where as they were reseyued
with great ioy / and so rode to y* palayes : 1 there they 4
souppyd. I wyl make no longe rehersaU of y* good
chere that they made there. Than after soupper they
went to there rest, and the next mornynge rose and
herde masse,2 and tooke a soppe in wyne,1 Than departyd 8
out of Coleyne. It was a goodly host to beholde, they
& theyr caryage / &3 artelyrey strechyd foure legges of
lenght Thus they all had sworne ye deth of Huon /
they passyd by hye Borgoyn and by Dolpheurey,4 and 12
so passyd the ryucr of Rone, and so in to the countre
of Burdeux. Nowe I wyll leue spekynge of them tyll
another season.
Huon orders all
his men to be
ready in arms,
and to come to
Bordeaux, when
he heard of the
Emperor's
protest.
The town is well
fortified and
furnished with
food and guns.
5% How themperoure Tyrrey of Almayne 16
beseged the cyte of Burdeux / and howe
Huon made hym redy to fyght with his
enemyes. Capitulo .lxxxxviii.
Hus ye haue well6 herde here before 20
the deuises that the duches Esclara-
mond had made to her husbonde
Huon ; who as soone as she was
chyrched, Huon sent his coramaunde- 24
ment throw al his countre euery man
to be redy in armes and to come to Burdeux, bycause
he was aduertysed of y* cominge of his enemyes / the
messengers made such delygence that in7 .xv. dayes 28
after euery man was come to Burdeux / and the8 duke
Huon reseyued them with great ioy. Than he repayryd
the cyte and the toures and walles, and it was well
furnysshed with vytaylles and artelery, as in sucho a 32
and.
3 their.
Dolphinne.
6 Fol. bcxvi. col. 1. 8 omitted. T within. 8 there.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xcviii.] how the emperor comes against bordeaux. 317
case it1 aparteynyd. 2 At that tyme ye cyte of Bur-
deux was not so strong as it is now / whan duke Huon
saw his cyte so well garnyshed with men and vytaylle /
4 he was ryght ioyfull. 8 Than he called to hym the olde
Gerames, & sayd / ' my ryght dere f rende. ye se well Huon begs the aid
' , , of Gerames in th«
this warre 4 that is aparent betwene themperour and me, conductor the
& nowe we be well aduertysed of his comynge, who is
8 redye to come with all his host to besege this oure
cyte / & therfore, my bertye5 frende, who hath aydyd
me in so many besynesses, I pray you counsell and
ayde me now; for6 all the condute of my warre / 1 wyll"
12 ye haue the charge, & that ye wyll comforte my men
8 to do8 well, so that of vs there be none 9yll songe9
made, and that our enemy es haue no cause to prayse ye
warre that they haue agaynst vs / nor that whan they
16 be retournyed in to there countres that they make not
there auauntes amonge theyr wenches and10 louers.'
' Syr,' quod Gerames, 1 1 thanke you of the honoure Gerames, in spite
of hie age,
and gret trust that ye haue in me / how be it, ye haue
20 many other more sage and hardy than I am, too whom
this11 charge sholde better aperteyne than to me. But,
str, as for me, I shall so aquy te me that I trust I shall promise* to do ail
he can.
not be reprehendyd., Thus, as ye haue herde, Huon
24 made his deuyses amonge all his barons / and made all
his ordynaunces for the defence of the cyte and the
maner of theyr yssues,12 and apoyntyd men for theyr
rescue in reculynge. And themperour was entred in to
28 the countre of Burdeux with a 13grete puyssaunce,18
byrnynge and dystroyenge the countre, wher of the The Emperor
burns and
poore peple were sore abasshed, bycause they neuer destroys ail the
had warre before / 3 thus themperour neuer restyd trough, rWSe"
32 exilynge 14 & destroyenge the countre tyll they came
1 well. 1 for. 8 and. * Fol. lxxvi. col. 2.
* deere. 8 in. 7 that *— 8 omitted.
9~9 euill report 10 their. 11 great 12 issuing.
13 -is mightie armie. 14 wasting.
Digitized by
Google
318 huon op burdeux. [Ca. xcix.
nnuiheirrivw before the cite of Burdeux and theyr he pyght vp his
before Um city of
Bordeaux, tentes and pauylyons / and themperoure lay on the waye
encmmpe. ledynge to Parys / on the other parte duke Sauarey,
father to Raoull, was lodgyd by themperoure marshalles / 4
so that all the cyte was closyd rownde aboute. Huon,
who was within the cyte, behelde theyr countenaunces
and maner of theyr lodgynge. He commaundyd that
all his men sholde be redy to yssue out vpon 1 thei£ 8
Haonprepemhii enemyes / the whiche they dyd. Than Huon armed
men for a sortie. «
hym2 rychely / and mountyd vpon his good horse, the
whiche was the emperours / and sware that, or8 he
returnyed agayne, he wolde shew his enemyes what 12
they of Burdeux coude do / whan he was mountyd on
his good horse he cam in to the cyte, and founde
the old Gerames redy aparelyd and4 all his company.
Than he ordaynyd5 .v. M. men to kepe the cyte, & 16
Twenty thousand .xx. M.6 to go with hym / thus duke Huon made his
are ordered to
follow iiim. ordenaunces. ye may well know7 that the sorow was
great that Esclaramounde made for the duke her hus-
bonde / she was ryght sage.8 she feryd to lese hym, 20
bycause she knew hym so aduenturus / and that his
enemyes were of so grete nombre / 9 ryght peteously
EacUramonde wepynge she made her prayers to our10 lorde god
■afety.°r 16 r deuoutly that he wolde kepe, and defende Huon, her 24
husbonde, & all hys men fro daunger & losse, & to
sende hym peace.11
% Of the grete batayle that was before Bur-
deux, where as Huon had grete losse & the 28
olde Gerames taken. Capitulo .lxxxxix.
1 Fol. lxxvi. back, col. 1. 8 selfe verie. 8 ere.
4 with. 6 appoynted. 6 men. * imagine.
8 wise. • but. 10 the. n with his enemies.
Digitized by
Ca. xcix.] op huon's first attack on the invaders. 319
/Hus, as he haue herde, Burdeux was be-
seged by themperour of 2 hye Almaynes,
& by hys brother the duke Sauary, with
a grete nombre of men. Than Huon
yssuyd out, and whan he was past the
porte, he made haste, to thentent to surpryce his
enemy es, for at that tyme themperour was set at dyner.
8 Than Huo/i & his company all at ones dasht in amonge Honn and his
company take the
the ten tes and pauylyons / and bet them downe to ye besiege™ by
erthe, so that they that were within were sore3 abasshed, 8urprise*
for they had4 thought5 that Huon durst neuer a6
12 yssued out of the cyte agaynst hym, and the great
nombre that he was of. Huon layde on rounde aboute and light with
rigour.
hym so that who so euer met with hym had no nede of
7leche7 craft. Also the olde Gerames dyd meruaylles,
16 and so dyd the Burdeloys. many a ryche tent and The tent* were
1011 . , . beaten down, and
pauylyon was beten downe4 to ye erthe,8 and they withm their inmates
alaiiu
slayne and all to hewyn. 9 Huon, who was mountyd on
his10 good horse, met with4 a knyght of themperoura
20 house, and he gaue hym suche a stroke with his sword
that he claue his hede to the teth / and than11 strake
another that his hede / helme & al, flew to the erth. they
that sawe that stroke was sore abasshed. Themperoures
24 men assembled togyther by heepes. But by the hye12
prowess of Huon anone they were agayne departyd /
18 he was so doughty d and feryd that none was so hardy
to aproche nere 4 to4 hym. The crye and noyce mountyd
28 so hye that the emperour, who was 4 as than4 at 4 hys 4 The Emperor is
roused from
dyner, whan he herde the14 crye he rose fro the table, dinner,
and demaundyd what noyse it was. 'Syr/ quod a J^JfJJf^jj1*
knyght, who was fled and sore hurt / ' sir, know for disturbance that
Jb 9 1 9 be hears from
32 trouth that your enemye Huon is issuyd oute of Bur- afcr.
1 Fol. lxxvi. back, col. 2. * the. 8 much.
4 omitted. 6 verily. e haue. 7-7 a leches.
* ground. • and. 10 a. 11 he.
u niightie. 13 for. 14 them.
Digitized by
320
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xcix.
deux, and hathe done so myche1 that he hathe slayne
a quarter of 2all2 your hoost, and without that ye doo
rescue your men8 shortely, your losse is lyke to be ryght4
grete, 6 for I haue sene Huon your enemy mountyd 4
vpon your good hors, wheron he doth gret meruaylles /
for there is none that meteth 2 with2 hym but 2 that2
6is slayne, he is so cruell and hardy.' whan themperour
herde the knyght he swet for displeasure ; 7incontynent 8
Tht Emperor he armed hym / and issued out of his tent and mountyd
and orders his on his horse / and founde his men redy. Than he saw
men to the onset jjUQn j^m^y^ on hjg g00(j n0rse / than8 he sayd to
his men, ' Syrs, I requyre you at this tyme put to your 12
paynes that I may be reuengyd of myne enemye, who
before my face yonder sleeth9 my men. he is so
valyaunt that whom so euer he stryketh with a full
stroke is but deed / gret domage it was whan he slew 16
He promises that my neuew.10 who so euer can delyuer hym to me
land shall be quycke or deed shalbe my frende for euer, and I shall11
wlrriorwho slays shew hym ye courtesy / that Esclaramond, who is so
the knight. fayre, I shall gyue her to12 hym in maryage, & all tho 20
countre13 of Burdeux.'
H Than suche as herde his promyse made them
redy for 14couytesu of that gyft. But sum hastyd so
myche to acomplysh themperours wyll that it was to 24
late after for them to repent. It is a15 saynge that
There is much an yll haste is not good / sum hastyd so sore16 that
rivalry for the J
promised gifts, after17 bought it full18 dere, as ye shall19 here, after
these wordes spoken by the emperour, suche as desyryed 28
to accomplyshe his wyll ran in all togyther in to the
batayle agaynst the Burdeloys / there was grete occy-
syon20 on both partes. Huon, who had grete desyre in
his hert to slee his enemyes / dyd so myche by hys 32
1 hurt. 2—2 omitted. 8 verie. 4 exceeding.
6 Fol. lxxvii. col. 1. 6 he. T and. 8 whereon.
• killeth. 10 nephewes. 11 will. 12 vnto. 13 Court
14-H the couetousness. 16 an old. 16 much.
17 af terwardes. 18 too, u heare. 20 daughter made.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. xcix.] how huon fights WITH THE GERMANS. 321
prowes that he reculyd his enemyes to theyr tentes / bat Huon u a*
mighty as ever.
& it had been yll with them, &1 duke Sauary had not
rescued them / he with his grete prowes made the??* to
4 recouer agayne the felde / 2 there was a sore batayle on
both partes. The olde Gerames that day slewe many a oid Oeramee also
man. But he aduenturyd hym selfe so far forth strength,
amonge his enemyes / that his horse was slayne vnder although hit
' horse is killed
8 hyni / so that he was 3constreynyd to fall to the erth / under him,
and there4 he was taken & led to themperours tent, and ftnd ta
prisoner.
gret fetters set* on* his legges. Alas that Huon had
not knowen therof ; if he had, he shold not haue ben
12 led away without grete losse. But he was in ye batayle
doyng meruelles in armes. he helde his sworde in his
hande tayntyd with blood and braynes of men that he
had slayne / there was none so hardy that durst aproch
16 nere to7 hym / he cryed8 'Burdeux' to draw his men
togyther / and dashet in to ye greatest prease, & strake Huon is to be ^
on al partes in suche wyse that his enemyes8 gaue hym the fight is
place, for none durst abyde his strokes / 9 the prease
20 was so grete of the men of duke Sauareys that he had
gret payne to breke in among them, he fought so
that he semyd rather a man of the fayrye or a speryt
than a mortall man / euery man had grete meruayle of Hie prowess is
* marvellous.
24 the prowes that he shewed10 & his company. Than cam
agaynst hym ye olde duke Sauary, with a byrnynge
desyre too be reuenged for the deth of his son Raoull ;
and Huon parseyued hym well, and made suche hast
28 that the duke had no leyser to gyue the fyrst stroke /
for Huon gaue hym suche a stroke with his sworde He unhorses at
° * one blow Duke
that he cut clene of a quarter of his shylde, & ye stroke Savary, who
gleynt11 to the horse necke by suche vertue that it strake for his son's
32 of clene the horse hede / so that there by the duke fell
to the erth / and yf he hadde not ben well socouryd he
1 if. * and. * Fol. lxxvii. col. 2. « then.
6 clapt 9 vpon. T vnto. 8 still. 9 Now.
10 shewed after company. 11 glyded.
CIIARL. BOM. VIII. Y
Digitized by
322
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. xcix.
He would have
been slain, had
he not been
•uoeoured by hie
Huon perceives
that his men are
outnumbered,
and retiree to
Bordeaux.
Sixteen thousand
of hie soldiers
were left desd
upon the field.
While retreating,
Huon kills a
cousin of the
Emperor, and
knights.
The Emperor
with his barons
attacks him,
had been slayne / but there came to hym so many men,
that whether Huon wolde or not he was socouryd / and
mountyd vpon a new horse / whan Huon sawe that be
was scapyd, he called vpon our lorde god, and sayd, 4
* A, good lorde, yf I tary here longe I se well that my
force shall but lytell profyte me, for there be.xx.
agaynst one.' Than he called certen of his lordes that
were aboute hym, & sayd, ' Syrs, I perseyue well our 8
force can not longe contynew1 / therfore it is better2
departe betyme* than to 3 tary to longe.' 'Syr,1 quod
they, ' as it shall please you ' / 4 than they tournyd the?n
toward?* Burdeux a soft pace / and Huon dyd / as the 12
sheparde doth go behynde his shepe / so wente he with
his sworde in his hande / defending his company fro
his enemy 68, 6sorowfull & angry for the losse that he
had that day, for in the mornynge whan he departyd 16
from Burdeux he had a .xx. M. of good fyghtinge men,
& at his retourae he saw well he had not past6 .iiii. M.,
wherwith he was sore displeasyd / & often tymes by
the way turnyd & returnyd to his enemyes. At last he 20
met with a knyght named Jozerane, & gaue hym suche
a stroke that he fell downe deed to ye erth, wherof
themperour Tyrrey was sore dyspleasyd / for he was his
cosyn germayne ; & after7 he slew other .iiii. knyghtes 24
of Almayne. Than ho returnyd agayne after hys men,
& so led them forth8 as the shephardo doth his shepe /
& often tymes tournyd & retournyd vpon his enemyes,
so that there was none so hardy that durst aproche nere 28
hym / therwtt/i thyther came themperour rychely armed
vrith y*9 armes imperyall,10 mountyd vpon a puyssaunt
horse. Than he cryed, ' on forth, my barons / take
hede that this traytoure Huon scape not away / yf I 32
maye haue hym in my handes / all the golde in the
1 endure. 8 to. 8 Fol. lxxvii. back, col. 1.
6 right. 6 aboue. * that. 8 still
• omitted. 10 and.
BO.
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Google
Ca. Xcix.] HOW THE MEN OP BORDEAUX RETREAT.
323
worlde shall not redeme hym fro hangiuge.' Huon,
who herd the emperour, sayd, 'A, false olde lepar,1
thou lyest falsly, I was neuer traytour.1 Than them-
4 perour ranne at Huon, & strake hym on the shylde, and
strake it clene thro we, and the spere brake all to peces.
And Huon with his sworde strake themperour on the
helme, so that the serkell set with stone & perle was
8 betten to the erth. 2yf the horse had not swaruyd,
themperour had neuer8 scapyd alyue ; neuertheles, the
stroke lyght so on his shulder that ye sword persyd the and is sore
mayle and gaue hym a depe wounde; & forther, y* Huon.
12 sworde dissendyd to y* arson4 of the sadell, so that the
hors 6 was stryken nye a sounder in two peces / 2 so
that6 themperour & the horse fell downe7 togyther 8 to
ye erth8 / so that &9 he had not ben rescued by ye
16 Almayns he had ben slayn. Huon was sorie when he
saw the Emperour so scapyd with his life; than he
tournyd and rode towardes Eurdeaux after his men, who
tarry ed still for hym, and Huon dyd so myche by hys under Huon's
20 prowes that for all themperour & his men he entred in his men reach '
Bordeaux tn
to his cyte of Burdeux. But as than ho knew not that safety,
the olde Gerames was taken prisoner. 10 Thus, as ye
haue herd, duke Huon entred in to Burdeux with
24 .iiii. M. men, of whome ye moost parte were sore hurte /
he rode to the palays & there alyghtyd. Than he lokyd
aboute hym, & was sore abasshed whan he saw not He is saddened
to hear of
Gerames by hym / tha?i he demauwdyd yf any man Gerames' rate,
28 knew where he was. ' Syr,' quod a knyght named
Gallerance, 1 know for trouthe11 he is taken prysoner, &
is in the handes of yonr enemyes / for to haue aydyd
hym I was woundyd in thre places, & nerehande
32 slayne. I employed my force to haue socouryd hym,
but I coudo fynde no remedy ' / whan Huon herd that /
1 dotard. 1 and. 8 not 4 bow.
6 Fol. Ixxvii. back, col. 2. 6 the. 7 to the ground.
*-* omitted. 9 if. 10 so. » that,
Y 2
324 huon op burdeux. [Ca. xcix.
he prasyd gretly Gerames force & vertue, & gretly com-
pleynyd & sayd, ' alas that I had not knowen of his
takynge, or1 1 had2 returnyd I wolde soner haue dyed /
but at the leest I wold haue taken sum man suffecyeut 4
•nd piteous is his to a3 redemyd hym agayne out of daunger.1 A pyteous4
thynge it was to here duke Huon what sorow he made
for his frende Gerames / but his compleyntes coude not
auayle hym / his lordes sayd, 'syr, 6 with goddes grace5 8
ye shal haue hym agayne saue & alyue/ ' Syrs,' qt«>d
Huon, 'it shall be a grete aduenture without they
put hym to deth.' Than Huon mountyd vp to the
palays, where as he met Esclaramond his wyfe / whom 12
he kyssyd & embraced many tymes. ' Syr/ quod ye
Hnon wis his lady, 'I pray you shew me of yoi/r newes.1 'Lady/
tiding*. quod Huon, ' they be but pore & dolowrus, for of ,xx.
M. men that I had with me 6 out of this cyte, I haue 16
brought home alyue but .iiii. M., and yet the moost parte
of them is7 sore wouwdyd / and besyde that,2 the olde
Gerames is taken prisoner, who hath suffred before this
tyme so many paynes & trauaylles for my sake.' ' A,8 20
she begs him syr/ quod ye lady, sore wepynge / ' I had rather ye had
seek succour from , , , , , . . .
her brother, beleued me, and that ye had gone and sought for
socoure of my brother / who wolde not a8 faylled you /
he9 wolde a3 come with you with so myche people and 24
puyssaunce that themperowr sholde not a3 durst to3
abyden you.' 'Dame,'10 quod Huon, 'speke no more
but he declares he therof / for the losse of as myche as .x. cytyes be in
will not abandon 11. no
the city. valure I wolde not haue gone tnether nor too none 28
other parte for any socoure, nor yet wyll not tyll I se
me sorer11 oppressyd than I am as yet / I myght well
be reputyd for a coward and recreau?tt thus to aban-
done my cyte / I had rather be dysmembred in to peces 32
than for fere I sholde leue you / it sholde12 be gretly to
1 ere. 8 omitted. 3 haue. 4 lamentable.
6 by the grace of god. 6 Fol. lxxviii. col. 1. 7 be.
8 Alas. 9 but. 10 Madame. 11 more. 12 would.
Digitized by
Ca. C.] OP THE DI8TRESS OF BOTH HUON AND THE EMPEROR. S25
my reproche in the courtes of liye prynces, and whan I
com there to be markyd with the fynger for that grete
defaulted ' Syr,' quod Esclaramonde, ' your pleasure is
4 myne, syn1 ye wyll haue it so / but I am ryght sorye2
for the olde Gerames, who is prysoner in ye tentes of
jour enemyes / who hath suffred for your sake many
grete paynes & pouertyes. I cannot be but sory whan
8 1 remembre hym.' 'Dame/3 quod. Huon, 'as yet
Gerames is not deed. I hope, by the grace of our lorde Huon hopes to
rescue Gerames.
god, that we shall haue hym agayne alyue.' 'Syr/
quod she, 'I pray to god1 it may be so.' Now let vs
12 leue spekyngo of Huon, and speke of themperour, who
lay sore hurt on the erth.
% How themperour reasyd vp a payre of
galowes to hang vp the olde Gerames and
16 all the Burdeloys that were taken prysoners.
Capitulo .C.
E haue well6 herde here before re-
countyd how Huon entred in to Bur-
deux after he hadde betten downe
themperour Tyrrey, whom he left
lyenge on6 ye erth, and had ben slayne
and7 his men had not quyckely rescued hym. 8 his The Germans
_ . . „,,,,, ,io find the Emperor
24 men were sorowfull,9 they feryd he had ben deed, & sorely wounded,
vnlasyd his helme, & was ryght ioyfull whan they
founde hym alyue. Thaw they demauwdyd & sayd,
4 sir, we desyre you shew vs what case ye fele yourself
28 in.' * Syrs/ quod he, ' I am sore hurt, wherby I fele
gret payne ; this enemye Huon hath brought me in this
case. I was foolyshly counselled whan I cam hyther to and he refrrete
seke for hym, for yf I had taryed styl at Mayenco, I fromMayence.
1 that 8 8orowful. 8 Madame.
4 Fol. Ixxviii. col. 2. 6 alredy. 6 vpon. 7 if.
8 now. 9 for.
Digitized by
Google
326
HUON OP BURDEUX.
beleue to do mo displeasure he wolde haue come
thether / syrs, I praye you here me in to my tent that
my wounde may be serchyd 1 / than he was borne in to
His wound his tent & vnarmed / & layd on1 his bed, & he sownyd 4
cause* him much
dolour. thryse for paine of his hurt. And whan he cam to
hym selfe, & his woundes2 serchyd by his surgyons /
he demaundyd where ye knyghtea of Burdeux were that
The knight. were taken in ye batayle, commaundyd8 tliat they 8
taken in battle J J 9 J J
are ordered into sholde be brought to his presence / Gerames was
hie pretence.
brought before hym, who was gret & puyssaunt, with a
berde as whyte as snow ; he was a fayre olde knyght to
beholde / his vysage playne & smylynge, he semyd to 12
be a man of hye affayres / whan ye emperonr saw hym /
he sayd, 'thou old catyue, shew me what thou art /
Gerames come, beware,4 shewe me the trouth1 / 'sir/ quod Gerames,
before him and ' / > 1 »
teiis bit condiuon. 'know well that for fere of any deth I wyll5 not spare 16
to say ye trouthe / syn ye wyl6 know what I am, I am
named Gerames, & am Huons scruaunt, whom I loue
naturally, & also I am his parent,7 wherby I haue y*
more cause to loue hym / & I haue slayne dyuers of 20
your men/ 'Well/ quod the emperour, 'I repute the
The Emperor bids for a foole to gyue me thys knowlege / for, by the
him be hanged '
early the next grace of 8 our lord Jesu Cryst,8 tomorow erlye, or9 I ete
morning, with
sixty of his or 10drynke, thou shalt be drawen and hangyd / and 24
company. ,
.lx. of thy company that were taken with thee in the
batayle.' ' Syr/ quod Gerames, ' of this that ye shew me
I can11 you no thawke for it / but I hope, by the ayde
Gerames defies his 0f *2our lorde12 Jesu Cryst, that I shall do you 12yet12 28
captor.
more domage or9 1 dye.1 'A, velayne/ quod themperour,
'gret meruayle I haue of the that thus before meu&
my barons12 thou dost vse18 thretnynges / and yet thou
seest 12clerely12 how thou art my prysoner, and that it 32
1 vpon. 1 were. 8 demaunded. 4 and.
6 shall. 6 needs. 7 kinsman. 8-8 God. 9 ere.
10 Fol. lxxviiL back, col. 1. 11 giue. omitted.
u these.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. C.] HOW GERAME8 IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH.
327
lyeth in me to put the to what deth it please me /
know for trouth, &1 it were not so late of ye day as it
is, I wolde not suffer the to lyue one houre. But or2 I Direction* for
4 slepe I shall cause 3gybettes and3 galowes to be made JlSolft n^Jtho
where as thou and thy company shalbe hanged / and I way£to£*ight"
shall cause the to be hangyd so nere to the cyte / that
yf Huon be so nere a kynne to the as thou sayest, he
8 wyll shew how well he loueth the / he maye haue grete
doloure whan before his iyen he shall se his cosyn and
his men hanged / and than after4 I wyll assayle the The Emperor
cyte / and take it parforce, so that than Huon in any JiJon wd"^
12 wyse shall not scape out of my handes, & so to be Bordeaux.10 ****
hanged with other / and the fayre Esclaramonde shalbe
brynt or condempnyd to pryson / and than I wyll
byrne all the cyte and dystroy it dene.' * Syr/ quod
16 Gerames, 'ye may say your pleasure, but in the
doynge is all the mater* / 5 whan themperour saw that
Gerames doughtyd not the deth, he was sore abasshed.
Than he cowmaundyd incontynent galowes to be reysyd
20 vp so gret to hange theron the .lx.6 prysoners, and to
be set on a lytell rocke nere to the cyte of Burdeux,
to thentent that Huon and his men myght se them
playne / therby to abasshe them / the whiche was Thegaiiowt
24 done / so the mater restyd tyll7 the next day in the up*
mornynge. And whan it was day Huo/» within y* cyte
rose and came to hys palays, and regardyd out at the and Huon espies
wyudowes to se and beholde the 8 host of his enemyes / paw
28 and as he stode he spyed the new galowes stondynge
on ye rocke. Than he callyd his lordes, and sayd /
' Syrs, neuer beleue / but yonder galowes that I se new He points them
J ' o out to We lord*,
reysyd is for none other entent but9 to hang theron
32 my men that be taken, & my10 frende Gerames, wherof
I am11 sorowfull. Therfore, syrs, quykely make you redy
» if. 1 ere. »-» a. * warden. 6 &.
9 fortie. T vntill. 8 Fol. lxxviii. baok, ool. 2.
• for. 10 good. 11 verie.
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Google
328
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. ci.
and urges them
to follow him to
the rescue.
Seven thousand
men are armed.
and mount on1 your horses / for or2 they be hangyd
we wyll proue our selfe against them / loke 3 to the host
warde8 & se whan they be commynge 4 to y8 galowcs
warde4 / & whan ye se them be redy on horsbacke, & 4
y* gate open, that we may issue out all at ones / & let
vs neuer thynke to returne tyll5 we haue rescued our
men / for I thynke6 neuer to returne in to this cyte tyll5
I haue delyueryd them out of y* hande* of our enemyes.1 8
Than they armed them a7 vii. M. by tale of good men
of armes, well horsyd, redy at y6 gate to departe whan
tyme cam. Now we wyl leue spekinge of Huon / &
speke of themperour. 12
The condemned
knights are tied
together in
couples on the
following day.
Gerames weeps,
and prays to God
to have mercy ou
their souls.
^1 How Huon issued out of Burdeux & rescued
the old Gerames and his company, whom
themperour wolde haue hanged.
Capt. .Ci. 16
Hemperour, who had grete desyre that
Gerames & his company were hanged /
caused them to be brought forth by
couples, one fast tyed to another, and 20
Gerames9 the formest / who then ryght
tenderly began to wepe when he saw
hymselfe in that case / 'A, good lord,' quod he, 'I
requyre the haue mercy on our soules, & kepe <fc 24
defende my good lord duke Huon / who by y* com-
maundement of kyng Oberon shold gyue me his duchy,
and he to haue kyng Oberons dygnyte of ye fayre after
foure yere passed / I can not say what fortune wyl fal / 28
but I may wel say that I shall neuer come to greter
honour / yet I am comforted in that I am so olde 10 &
hoore;10 it is-good reason that I be content to haue lyued
1 vppon. 8 ere.
*-* toward the gallowea.
8 Fol. lxxix. col. 1.
3-8 towardes the Hoaste.
6 vntill. 0 purpose. 7 aboute.
• was. J0-10 emitted.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cL] HOW 8IR OTHO PLEADS FOR A RESPITE.
329
so longe / it is now 1good1 tyme that I departe out of
this worlde.' Then themperour called to2 hym a
knyght /& sayd, 'sir Othon, I wyl that incontynent ye The Emperor Md»
'" Sir Otho direct
4 take thre .M. men, & take these prysoners & hange them the hanging, with
vp all vpon the galowes that were made yester nyght Sen! th0UMUd
late / & if it be so that Huon yssue out, loke that ye
quyte your selfe valyauntly / & yf ye3 nede of ony
8 ayde, take my home and blowe it, for I haue redy a
poynted .x. M. men to socoure you yf nede be ' / when
Othon herde themperour he was ryght sory to haue that sir otho mi of
. , . , . distant kin to
4 commission 4 / for in his youth he was brought vp in Huon, and
regrets inch a
1 2 the house of duke Seuyn, father to Huon, & som what communion,
he was of his kyn, but as then he had slayne a man,
wherfore he fled fro Burdeux, & came & serued them-
perour at Mayence / wherfore he was 5 wo and5 sorowfull
1 6 to haue that commyssyon. Then he sayd to themperour,
'syr, me thynke ye do yll to cause them to dye so He plead* with
the Emperor for
hastly, better it were to abyde to se what ende your delay,
warre wyl come vnto / and also yf it fortune that any of
20 your lordes to be taken here after / for one of theym ye
myght recouer hym agayne / and yf ye slee theym / and6
yf ony of 7youre barons happe to be taken, they shall
dye of lyke deth / and therfore, syr, yf ye wyl byleue
24 me ye shall forbere sleynge of them at this tyme / and,
syr, yf ye wyll gyue me lysence / 1 shall doo so moche to
duke Huon / that for the offence that he hath done to2 and promisee that
_ A_ , . Huon will make
you he shall make8 amendes at youre9 pleasure, and he him amends for
, , , 0 , _ , * « .i i the death of hia
28 shal go to2 some holy pylgrymage to praye for the soules nephews,
of your nephewes and other of youre lordes that he hathe
slayne / and he to haue with hym two hondred men
in theyr shyrtes, and so to go to the holy sepulture at
32 his owne charge and coste / and he to holde of you all
his londes, and to doo you homage.' Then the lordes
i-1 omitted. 2 vnto. 3 haue. *— 4 euill office.
*-* right. 6 then. 7 Fol. lxxix. coL 2. 8 you.
• owne.
330
The Emperor's
lords approve
8ir Otho'a
counsel ;
HUON OF BUR DEUX.
[Ca. CL
bat the Emperor
bursts into a rage,
and swears all
who plead for a
respite of the
Urea of Hoon'a
men shall die
forthwith.
Otho ia again
ordered to
despatch
and the rest,
and he departs
to work the
Emperor's wilL
that were there present all with one voyce said to1 the
emperour, ' Syr, the counsell that syr Othon hath gyuen 1
you is worthy to be byleued ; we al agree ther to, and
desyre you so to doo/ 2 when the emperoure herde theym 4
he was sorowfull and sore dyspleased. 'Syr,' quod
Othon, ' ye may surely knowe yf ye hange any of them
that be taken / yf Huon happe to take any of your men,
he shal neuer scape vnhangyd and drawen.' When the 8
emperour hadde herde Othon speke he was soo troubled,
& angry that it semed by his face that for 8 pure yre8
he was nye4 in a rage, and sayd / ' beholde, syrs, this
foole, who wolde let me to take vengeauwce on them 12
that so sore hath troubled me / he hath herde me or5
this tyme swere and make solempne promyse that I
wold neuer returne in to my countre tyll I hadde
hanged and drawen Huon of Burdeux / for, by the 1 6
lorde that made me to his semylytude, I knowe noo
man this day, though he were neuer so nere a kynne to
me, excepte myne owne brother / but I shal make hym
to be slayne yf he speke any more to me for respytynge 20
of theyr lyues / nor I shall neuer loue hym / for I
make a vowe to oure lorde god that I wyll neuer
returne in to my countre tyll6 I haue taken 7 this cite
parforce.' ' Syr,' quod Othon, ' syn8 it is your pleasure, 24
I shall speke no more therof / but I byleue it wyll be
longe here after or9 ye fynde ony that wyll be glad to
do youre pleasure.' ' Othon/ quod themperour / i dys-
patch the mater and reuenge me vpon the old Gerames 28
and vpon all his company ' / ' syr/ quod Othon, ' it is
conuenyent that I doo it, syn8 it is your pleasure ' / then
without ony more wordes he departed & toke Gerames
& the other prysoners, and wente with them towardes 32
the galowes. Gerames went before with the halter
1 vnto.
6 ere.
* but. s— 3 verie anger. 4 neerehand.
6 vntill. T Fol. lxxix. back, col. 1.
8 seeing. • before.
Digitized by
Ca. ci.] OP GERAMES BEFORE THE GALLOWS.
331
aboute his necke, sore wepynge, and all his company
after hym ; so at the last they came to the place of
execucion / then1 ye ladders were set vp / 2 then the
4 hangman came to3 Gerames, & sayd / ' Come On. thou The hangman
rudely accosts
olde dottarde, thou hast lyued longe ynough / thou the old Gerames.
shalt no more se hym whom thou louest so well / but2
I hope shortely he shall here the company wauynge in
8 the wynde ' / when Gerames herde hym / he behelde
hym fyersly, and sayd, 1 A, thou vnhappy vyllayne, yf
one of my handis were lose thou sholdest neuer se fayre
day more / how arte thou so hardy to say or to thinke
12 so 4vylayn wordes* of the best and moost valyauntes
knyght that is now lyuynge ' ? / then Othon came to
them / and 6 herde how the hangman6 reuiled Gerames /
&6 sayd, 'a, thou 7 false rybaude,7 thynkest thou not that otho reproaches
iiii i /*./-• ii i tne fsllow with
16 this knyght hathe ynough to suffre / though thou doest his wickedness,
not reuyle him ? / yf thou8 were in that poynt9 that they
be in, and they in the cyte of Burdeux, thou woldest
soone repente thy10 wordes ' / & therwith he lyfte vp a
20 staffe that he had in his hande, and strake the hang and strikes him
man ther with that he fell downe to the erthe, and11 8°rei3r'
sayd, 'A, thou false thefe, do thyne offyce, and speke no
wordes* / then12 the hangman durst speke no more ;18
24 then he toke Gerames by y6 halter that Was aboute his Gerames mounts
_D J _ , , , _ , „ the ladder with a
necke, & so mounted vpon the ladder, and Gerames halter about his
after hym / who14 made pyteous complayntes for Huon
his good lorde / the same tyme that Gerames mounted
28 vpon the fyrst steppe of the ladder, they wit/rin the
cyte vpon the walles perceyued it, & sawe clerely15 that Boon's lords
without the prysoners were shortly16 rescued / theyr from the city
lyues were lost, then they sayd to Huon / * syr, yf ye
32 tary any lenger your men shall be all 0 hanged, for
1 where. 8 and. 8 vnto. *— 4 villainous a word.
6-6 hearing the hangman how he. 6 he.
T base slaue. 8 thyselfe. 9 case. 10 saucie.
11 then he. 12 whereupon. 13 but
14 Fol. lxxix. back, col. 2. 16 euidently. 18 speedily.
Digitized by
332
HUON OF BUR DEUX.
[Ca. Ch
end Hnon
recognizes hit old
friend in direst
peril.
He bids his lords
follow him to the
rescue,
and seven
thousand fighting
men issue from
the city gates.
Huon slays trie
hangman at one
blow.
Gerames leaves
the ladder.
A fierce battle
takes place.
yonder we se one of them is mountyd vpon the ladder,
who hath a herd as whyte as1 snow.1 when Huon herd
that he was sore dyspleased, & sayd / ' a, good lord, I
knowe suerly2 it is my true frende Gerames whom 4
they wolde fyrst put to dethe / therfore, syrs,8 quyckly
let vs yssu out at the gate / for, yf Gerames be not
quyckly4 socoured, the tray tours wyll put hym to deth ;
but, yf2 I may come tyme ynough, it5 shall be derely 8
solde to them therwttft.' 6 Huon, with .vii. M. fyght-
ynge men yssued out at the gate so fyeraly that the
erthe semed to synke7 vnder them / theyr horses
made such brute8 / and so within a shorte space by a 12
preuy9 way they cam to the place where as the galowes
were10 / Huon was the fyrst that aryued there / 11 he
aduysed11 well the hangman that sholde haue hawged
Gerames / he12 gaue hym suche a stroke with his spere 16
that he ran hym 13clene13 through, so that he fell of14
the ladder 18starke,s deed ; so was Gerames reuenged of
the inurye that he had done to hym before, then Huon
sayd, 'Gerames, come15 of the ladder and arme you in 20
some harneys16 of them that shall be here slayne ' /
Gerames thanked our lorde god & cam downe the
ladder, and then thyder came Huons company, who
untyed all the other prysoners / then 13 there 13 began a 24
sore batayle / the Almaynes wolde not flye / 17 Huon 17
cryed to them, & said, ' ye false traytours, youre dethes
is18 Juged ; dere shall be solde to you the offence that ye
haue done to12 me when ye wolde slee thus my men with 28
so vylayne20 a dethe / better it had ben for you to haue
ben at Mayence 21hyden in the lappes of your wenches22
and louers.' when they vnderstode Huon, anone they
, „ _ 4 presently.
6 Hereupon. 7 groane. 8 a thundering.
. . u ftndi
1 that. 8 I requyre you.
1 the.
6 his peril L
0 secret. 10 stood
13— is omitted. 14 from.
17~ 17 the whioh Huon seeing.
20 villainous. » Fol. lxxx. col. 1
li—ii an(j ne marked.
15 downe. 18 armour.
18 are. 19 vnto.
28 mothers.
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Google
Ca. Ci.] OF THE RELEASE OF GERAMES.
333
knewe hym, wherof they were sore abasshed / then
Huon mette with a knyght of Almayn, and ranne hy in Huon fight* with
bis customary
clene through, and so he serued thre other / then he vigour.
4 drewe his swerde wher with he dyd grete meruayles /
for or1 he seased he slews .xiiii. and also his men dyd
meruaylles in armes / so that within a shorte space the
Almaynes were dyscomfyted, so that none scaped a or«nthe
8 waye a lyue excepte syr Othon, who valyauntly de- only sir otho '
fended hymselfe / but, when he sawe that his force Mcapwlalive-
wolde not helpe hym, he yelded hym selfe to Huow,
and gaue hym his swerde, and cryed hym mercy, and
12 sayde / i syr, I requyre2 you slee me not, but haue HehegeHuon
pyte of3 me / for4 I promyse you faythfully that him.
agaynste my wyll I came hyther, but I was forced so
to do by the emperour; and, fyret, I desyred respyto
10 5 for them,5 6 so moche that the emperour was sore dys-
pleased with me. 1 entreated for a peace to haue ben
had7 bytwene you and hym, but my wordes coude not
profyte.8 syr, I am your kynsman, and was brought He cuimt Unship
with him*
20 vp in duke Seuyn, your faders house, and there I
serued a mayster who dyd bete me, and when I felte my
selfe stronge and of age, I was dyspleased that he dyde
bete me9 without10 cause / 4 1 slew hym and fledde
24 away, and came to Mayence, & euer syn I haue serued
the emperoure who is come hyther to besyege you.'
' Frende/ quod Huon, ' fere not your deth, but I pray Huon promise*
you fro hens forth ayde and serue me as ye ought to do win j^wmtor*
28 to your carnall11 frende' / 'syr/ quod Othon, 'god tbefuture-
shame me yf I do the contrary / but I shall serue you sir otho consent!
truly as longe as lyfe is in my body ' / then Huon came an time,
to ye fote of ye ladder, where as he founde Gerames as
32 then not vntyed / Huon kyssed and embrased hym
oftentymes, and sayd, ' ryght dere frende, I am ryght
1 ere. 8 beseech. 8 on. 4 and. *-* omitted,
8 In. 7 made. 8 preuaile. 8 so.
10 a. 11 louing.
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Google
334
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cL
Hoon oongmtn- glad at my herte when I se you 1hole of body ' / then he
hi. escape, wente to the other, and lossed them, and vnbounde theyr
and bids ail the eyen, and sayd, ' Syrs, arme 2you all* with the harneys
prisoners, whom
he frees, to arm of them that be deed / for a man that is armed hath3 4
the weapons of aduawtage afore4 other that be not so >5 / it was nedeful
his S^h?*"" U* for them to be armed, god defende them from yll6 / for
anone after they had so meruaylous a rencounter that
they had neuer 7 none suche7 before / for the other .x. 8
thousande men came to reuenge them that were deed /
. they wente8 to haue come tyme ynoughe / but they
fay led, for they came to late / for® Huon had taken of
all them theyr truage. When Huon saw that he had 12
done that10 he came for / he returned hym towardes
a second band of the cy te / but he was soo pursued that he was nere sur-
the French while prysed and stopped fro entrynge in to the cy te / when
ifcrdeaux! Huon saw his enemyes coniyng he cryed a hye11 to his 16
men, 12 and sayde,12 ' Syrs, let vs turne vpon them that
cometh 13 to vs ward e 13 / to ye en tent that they shall not
make theyr auauntes that they haue caused vs to flye
They turn about awaye before them ' / then he and all his men returned 20
and give battle, theyr enemyes with a 14 valyaunt corage / 16 at
that metynge many speres were broken on bothe partes,
& many a knyght borne to the erth / that had neuer8
power after to releue theym selfe / there was suche 24
occysyon16 on both party es that pyte it was to se it17 /
Huon spares none 15grete meruayle it was to se Huon how he bett downe
1 * his enemies, and claue helmes and rased them fro the
hedes of his enemyes. he delte in suche wyse that 28
none18 Almayne durst abyde his strokes, he was so
douted and fered ; he made the thycke prese to breke
sir otho fights a sonder and flye awaye before him; and by him
nobiy. was syr Othon, who that dyd many a noble dede 32
1 Fol. lxxx. col. 2. 2-2 yourselves. 8 the. 4 of,
6 armed. 6 euill. 7~7 the like. 8 hoped.
9 omitted. 10 which. 11 aloud. 12~ia saying.
w— 13 toward vs. 14 most 16 and. 18 a slaughter.
17 them. 18 no.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. ci.] OF THE FORTUNES OF THE WAR.
335
of armes / for next Huon aboue all other that day he
bare the pryee / fynally, Huon and Othon and his other
men dyd so moche that the Almayns were chasyd to The German* art
*7 chased back to
4 theyr tentes, & many alayne1 in the chase and sore hurte their tent*,
so that they neuer rode on horse backe after / some
tyme it fortuneth that it is foly to aduenture to moche
forward / and to late to repent ofter2 / I say this for
8 Huon and his company, who were gone so moche for-
warde that in great dauwger they returned to the cyte /
for ye almayns, who were thyrty thousande men redy a third band of
Germans now
before theyr tentes / when they sawe Huon & his men threaten Huon's
company.
12 chase theyr company, they set forth agaynst Huon,
3 When Huon sawe them / he sayd to4 his men / c syrs,
it is good that we 6recule to5 our cyte / for yonder I
se comyng mo then thyrty thousande almayns as fast
16 as they can* / 6 when Huons company sawe them, they His men, wearied
douted gretely, and not without cause / for they had skirmishes, *row
ben before at two grete skyrmysshes, wherby they and
theyr horses were wery and sore trauayled, the whiche
20 was no meruayle / 6 by the counsell of Huon they
returnyd a fause galop towardes theyr cyte / and ye They gallop back
. _ . to Bordeaux witli
Almayns were at theyr backe, and chased them so the Germans in
quickly that more then fiue Hundred Almaynes entred an7flle hundred
24 in to the cyte with them of Burdeux / but they that SforVthe^tee
kept the gates that daye were sage7 and dyscrete, for as areclo^d»
soone as they perceyued that Huon and his company bat the French
hare arrived in
were entred / and with them a8 fyue honored of theyr safety.
28 enemy es / they wolde kepe theyr gates no lenger open,
for fere that theyr enemyes shold haue entred with to
grete a norabre, so9 for hast they cut a sonder the corde
that helde vp the purcoloys, the whiche fell downe by
32 suche force that it fell on 10 the horse of an Alraayn that
was vnder,11 the whiche horse was cut clene a sonder,
1 Fol. Ixxx. back, col. 1. * afterward. 8 and.
4 vnto. * recoil into. • so. 7 wise. 8 aboute.
• that. 10 vpon. u it.
Digitized by
Google
336
HUON OF BUBDEUX.
[Ca. CL
The Germans
retire to their
Huon orders the
five hundred of
them who have
entered the city
to be slain
forthwith.
They pray for
mercy.
Gerames supports
their prayer,
and Huon yields
to him.
Huon bids them
be all unarmed
and sent to
divers houses on
parole.
800 that the man and the fore parte of the horse fell
within the gate, and the hynder parte of the horse fell
without / wherof ye Almains that folowed after were
sorowfull and angry that they had not come thyder 4
soner / then they returned to theyr tentes, complayn-
ynge for the grete losse and1 domage that they had2
that daye by the hye prowess of Huon & his men / and
also they that were entred in to the cyte were sore 8
abasshed when they saw themself closed3 within the
cyte. When Huon perceyued it, he had grete meruayle /
that they were soo entred in amonge his men / for he
knewe not therof, and yet he4 was the last that entred / 12
then he sayde, ' A, ye false traytours, ye shall al dye an
yll deth' / 6 then he sayd to his men, 'syrs, slee them
all* / then incontynente they alyghted and kneled
downe before Huon, and requyred hym to haue mercy, 16
& pyte of theym / as to saue theyr lyues / ' and put vs
in pryson / 6 we be all men of a noble lygnage / & it
maye so be that by vs ye may haue peace with the em-
perour.' Then Gerames sayd to Huon / ' syr, I requyre 20
you to haue pyte of them, and put them not to deth,
for so it may be that by them ye may haue peace.'7
' Frende/ quod Huon, 'I am content to do at your
pleasure as ye wyll haue me do ' / then he commaunded 24
they sholde al be vnarmed / then they al made promyse
to Huon not to departe without lycence / ' Gerames,'
quod Huon, ' I wyll that these prysoners be brought vp
in to the borow & there departed,8 and set in9 dyuers 28
houses that be sure, and let them haue all thynges
necessary for theyr lyuynge ' / then Gerames delyuered
theym to the kepynge of suche as he trusted / and so
eche of them was kepte in a courtoyse pryson. Now 32
1 Fol. Ixxx. back, col. 2. a sustained. 3 encloased.
4 himselfe. 6 and. 0 quoth they.
7 with the Bmperour. 8 parted. y to.
Digitized by
Ca. 0iL] HOW THE GERMANS LONG FOR PEACE WITH HUON.
337
let vs leue to speke of Huon and of his prysoners, and
18peke of1 the emperoure.
% Howe the Emperoure assayled the cyte of
Burdeux two tymes, where as he lost many
of his men. Capitulo .C.ii.
>S ye haue herde here hefore how
Huon chased his enemyes to theyr
tewtes / and how it was tyme for
hym to returne to his cyte, & how
he was so pursued hy the Almayns
that more then fyue hondred of them
12 cntred in to ye cyte, and were closed with in it, and
the resydue returned to theyr tentes sorowf ull & angry when the
for ye grete losse that they had. 2 When they were to their tenu, the
returned ye Emperoure demauwded what tydynges, & oi^^h^^
16 how they had sped / & yf they had8 take/i Huo/i
quycke or deed. ' Syr,' quod a knyght, ' it is folye for
you to speke thus / for Huon is no man so lyghtly to
he taken / for the .lx.4 men that ye sent to haue hen They tell him of
20 hanged be rescued hy Huon, and the thre .M. men prisoners,
that ye sent w/t/i them are all slayne, & dyuers other *f H^otn.epr°WeM
sore hurt,5 in peryll of dethe, and hcsyde that, fyue .C.
men of ye best of your frendes are entred in to
24 Burdeux / for we so hastly pursued Huon & his men /
that entry nge in to the cyte fyue .C. of our men entred
in to the cyte, entermedled with Huons men, & theyr
they be inclosed in6 / therfore, sir, we alow7 & They advise him
* to make peace
28 counsel you that ye agree with Huon / 8yf ye do not with Huon.
ye shall lose9 youre men / for Huon is so fell & cruell /
that he wyll 10hange vp your men as ye had thought too
haue done his, of whom one of them was his cosyn /
1-1 returne to. 2 so. 8 not 4 fiftie. 6 and.
6 within. 7 aduise. 8 for. 9 all.
10 Fol. Ixxxi. col. 2.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. Z
Digitized by
Google
333 HUON OP BUR deux. [Ca. ciL
ye may do as it please you.' when themperour herd
Lis barons -what couwsell they gaue hym, he was1
sorowf ull, and sayd, * syrs, ye do me grete wronge to
requyre me to make ony peace wttA Huon / syn ye i
knowe well what othe & promys I haue made that I
wyll neuer be at peace with hym / and to ye entent
The Emperor win that ye shal speke no more therof / knowe for trouthe
not listen to their 0 „ , , , Q
oouneeu that tho2 .x.M. of my nexte3 frendes were taken by o
Huon, I wolde rather suffre them to 4 be slayne of4 a
shamefull deth then to agree to any peace "with Huon
tyll I haue slayne hym / and his cyte 5brynt5 &
dystroyed.' * Syr/ quod they, ' syn6 it is youre plesure 12
ye may do as ye thynke best/ cSyrs/ quod the
He bid* ail hie emperour, 'I wyll that ye assemble all myn hoost, and
and eende to hit sende to my broder that he brynge all his men / and
brothers for .
farther aid. then with all our puyssaunce7 assay le the cyte / and 16
that noue be so hardy8 to recule backe tyl9 ye cyte
be taken ' / this was proclaymed through the hoost / &
euery man10 redy to assayle the cyte ; and ye chefe
captayne was duke Sauarey, who brought all his men 20
in good ordre to the dykes, well furnysshed with
ladders & other necessary thynges parteynynge to
assaulte. The same tyme Huon and his men were
Hnon perceives vnarmed and goynge to dyner / 11 when he herde the 24
by ite noise the .
attacking force noyse and crye without / he toke a sop m wyne, and
approach the tity. an(j fljj ^ig raen / and euery man went
to the walles to theyr defenses / and Huon and 12 the 12
olde Gerames / Othon / and Barnarde, a valyaunt knyght, 28
mountyd on the toure ouer ye gate, and the Almayns
The Germans set on euery parte entred in to the dykes, and raysed vp
ladders against
the woiu, but the many a13 ladder to the wall ; and11 they with in caste14
them. downe 12agayne theyr ladders, so that they that were 32
on them fell downe in to the dykes,12 soo that they had
1 verie. 2 if. 3 neerest. 4-4 die. 6-6 be burnt.
8 seeing. 7 we will. 8 as. • vntill. 10 wan.
51 but. 12-12 emitted. 13 acaling. 14 them.
Digitized by
Ca. Cii.] OF THE ASSAULTS ON BORDEAUX.
339
no power to releue vp agayn / for there was caste
downe on them erthe and Hymbre & stones, 2 so that
they coude not aryse2 / fyerse was ye assaulte that y* Both besieger*
4 Almayns made, & they within made goodly8 defence, iatoroaaiy^ fleht
for 2 they slewe wttA bowes & crosbowes / that pyte it
was to see the deed & hurt men that lay on the erth* /
Huoft & Gerames shotte so with theyr crosbowes /
8 that at euery shotte they slew some man, or sore
wounded hym / 4longe enduryd this assault / so that
fynally the Almayns were constrayned to recule back a but the Germans
bo we shotte / whereof they wetnin were6 ioyfull. Then *tknglh retire'
12 themperour Tyrrey, beynge sorowful and full of yre6 /
came to his men, & rebuked them shamefully / com- The Emperor is
maundynge them that incontynent they shold returne men,
agayn to assay le the cyte / sayenge that 2yf they wolde
16 quyckely assay le ye cyte agayne2 they sholde not fayle
to winne it. Then the Almayns, to please theyr lorde,
returned in gret hast -with theyr ladders ts pyrkes / & «nd they retnrn
" w ' to the attack.
came in to the dykes / where as then there was no
20 water, & reysed7 vp 2 theyr ladders2 to y* walles / but
they were no soner vp / but they wit/iin bete them
downe agayne / 8so that they that were vpon them
were8 in daunger of theyr Hues / for they 2 wit/iin2 caste
24 downe tymbre &2 stones & fagottes, vritfi fyre & bote
oyle & leade9 / so that ye assay launtes were fayne
parforce to recule 10 backe / & they w/t/iin shot arrows But a aecond time
so thycke / that it semed lyke snow, themperour was th*y repu,,eJ*
28 sore dyspleased, & duke Sauarey / when they saw none
other remedy, many were slayne and sore hurt /1X
themperour & Sauarey his broder, seyng that they
coude nothynge profyte, sowned ye ret ray t / & so and the retreat is
32 returned to theyr tenter, sore dyspleased for y" gret
losse that they had / 12 they lost that daye mo then
1 Fol. lxxxi. back, col. 1. 2~* omitted. 3 noble.
4 and. 6 very. 6 rage. 7 them. 8~* and put them.
9 vp]'ou. 10 recoile. 11 and. 12 for.
z 2
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Google
340
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cii.
Two thousand
Germans were
slain and three
thousand
wounded.
The Duke Savary,
the Emperor's
brother, thinks
the dtj
impregnable,
but the Emperor
resolves to
continue the
siege.
Huon thanks God
for his success,
and bids his men
be wary in the
future,
but his losses
hsTS been verj
heavy.
.ii. M. men lyenge deed in ye felde & in ye dykes / &
mo then .iii. M. sore hurt / then duke sauary sayd to
themperour / ' sir, methynke it is but f oly to assay le
the* cite / it is stronge & wel furnysshed with men & 4
good knyghte* to defende it / wherfore we may wel
perceyue that wt't/* out gret domage we can not wynne
it / without it be.1 by famyne / 2 he that is lorde therof
is hardy & cruell / & to be fered & douted / for he is 8
expej-te in armes / wherfore it is inpossible to take y'
cyte perforce.' When themperour vnderstode him, ho
was right sorowful, & made agayn new promys not to
departe thens / tyll3 he had Huon at his plesure. Huow, 12
who lytel set by ye thretuynges of themperour, went in
to his palais, & sayd to his men / 'syrs, we ought
gretely to thanke god for ye defence of our cyte / many
Almayns be slayne & hurte / I doute them nothynge / 16
for our cyte is stronge / or4 it be lost it wyll cost many
men theyr lyues / I desyre you all take good hede that
we be not begylebV 4 Syr/ quod they, * we shall take
good hede therof / as well for you as for ye sauegarde 20
of our lyues.' Thus Huon & his men deuysed togyder /
how be it, they were sore apayred5 / for at y* beginnyng
they were a6 .xx. M men / & then they were not
past7 .vi. M. Now let vs leue spekynge of them & 24
speke of themperour, who was ryght sorowful for his
losse.
Howe Huon sent Habourey his messenger
to themperour to requyre peace / & of his 28
answere. Ca. Ciii.
1 Fol. lxxxi. back, col. 2. * for. 8 vntill.
4 and before. 6 greeued. 6 about. 7 aboue.
Digitized by
Ca. ciii.] how huon's forces dwindle.
341
Hen themperour had herd duke Sauerey
his broder speke / he made a solempne
othe / that what so euer fortune sholde
fall / he wolde not depa?-te thens,
wynter nor somer, tyll he had won y*
cy te / then he sent for his rerebande / as farre as his The Emperor
, , , summons new
empyre stretched, comraaundyng euery maw to come to forces.
8 him, all excuses layde a parte / & so they dyd / 1oi
theyr commynge by the way I make no mencyon, but
so longe they trauayled that they came with in a leege From the furthest
of Burdeux.2 When themperour knew therof he had l^redoUiey
1 2 gret ioye, & mounted on his horse with other lordes with come*
him / & rode 3& met them, & spake to them, & made
them good chere. Thus his force encreased, & Huons Meanwhile
minysshed4 dayly / often tymes Huon 5 wolde yssue6 diminishing,
16 out on6 his hors called Amphage / and made dayly
many grcte skyrmysshes / somm tyme he wan / &
some tyme he lost / he slewe many Almayns / bo that but the Germans
they all fered him / for there was none that durst or him.
20 abyde him / his hors was so delyuer7 that none durst
aproche nere hym without he were slayne / & Huons He makes
skirmishes daily,
men 8 dyd acquyte8 them valyauntly / so that yf they and if he loses
lost at one tyme / they wanne .iii. tymes for it / but thrk»jewn§
24 theyr force coude not longe endure / 9 theyr enemies
were so many & they so fewe, for2 they had made so
many issues 10 out10 that they had lost many of theyr
company / for of .xx.M. they were lefte but .v.C.11 / but his men
r J 1 J ' dwindle rapidly to
28 & a .C. archers / and a .C. crosbowes to kepe theyr five hundred,
towne with all10 / wherof Huon was 10ryght 10 sorowfull /
Jwhen he sawe that he had but .v. C. men / he called
to hym Gerames / Othon / Barnarde / & Richar, Huon calls his
chief lords
32 12 they were all of his kynne and he sayd to them12 / together,
'syrs, I se 10 well10 that euery daye we do minysshe13 /
1 Now. 2 and. 3 Fol. lxxxii. col. 1. 4 diminished.
6-6 issued. • vpon. J cruell. 8~8 quit 9 for.
10~w omitted. 11 men. 12~12 saying. W diminish.
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Google
342
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[G
a. cm.
and advises that a
messenger be sent
to sue for peace.
Harbourey Is
despatched on the
embassy,
and Huon bids
him promise all
possible
reparation to the
Emperor.
Harbourey
departs,
and arrives at the
Emperor's tent.
He delivers
Huon's
wherfore *at length1 we can not2 endure agaynst the
emperoures force / therfore I thynke that it were good /
that we sente to themperour to knowe yf he wyll here
spekynge of ony peace.' ' Syr,' <±uo& they, ' we thynke 4
your aduyse ryght good / 8 it were good too knowe yf
he wyll agree therto or not' / then Huon called
Habourey his messenger, and commaunded him that
incontynent he sholde go to the emperour, & say vnto 8
hym ' that yf it he his pleasure to here spekynge of any
peace, I shall4 condyscende therto / and too make hym
amendes at his pleasure / for y* wronge and domage
that I haue done5 him and my6 men. Also she we 12
hym how7 I wyll become his man, and do hym homage
for all the landea that I haue / the whiche I was wonte
to holde of the kyng of Frauwce / but syn8 I haue no
socoure fro hym / I am dry9uen parforce to purchase 16
for my profite in some other place / & besyde that,
shewe hym / that the v. C. prysoners that I haue of his
men / I shall deliuer them quyte without any rauwsome
payenge / & also when lent cometh / 1 & a C. knyghtes 20
with me at my coste and charge / shall passe the see
and go to y* holy sepulture / to pray for the soules of
his neuewes that 1 haue slayn / & for all other as hath
ben 6layne by occasyon of this warre.' ' Syr,' quod the 24
messenger, * I am redy to fulfyll your coramaundement,
what so euer fall ther of / and so10 departed, <fc went
to themperours host, and entred in to the ryche tent /
and then he kneled downe before themperour, & sayde, 28
'The puyssaunt11 god, who on a12 crosse dyed to saue
all humayne lygnage,13 kepe & defende from all yll /
themperoure & all his barony, syr, duke Huon of
Burdeux sendeth to you salutacion and good amyte, 32
requyrynge you, in the honour of 14 our lorde Iesu cryst,14
I—1 omitted. 1 long.
6 his. T that
10 hee. 11 almightie.
8 and. 4 quoth he. * vnto.
8 seeing. • Fol. lxxxii. col. 2.
» the. » kinde. ^* god.
Digitized by
Ca. ciii.] now huon sends to ask for peace.
343
that he may haue peace with you / by that he will
become your lege man / & do you homage, & holde his
landes of you / and wyl delyuer quy te ye .v. C. men of
4 yours that he hath in pryson in the cyte / & more ouer,
he offereth hymself and a .C. knyghtes to passe the see
this nexte lent and to go to the holy sepulture to pray
to our lorde god for the soules of your neuewes that be
8 deed, & for other that by hym and1 his meanes hath
ben slayn in this warre / syr, yf it well2 please you
this to do / ye shall do a gret almes dede / for lyfe can
not be had agayne to them that be deed.' When
12 themperour Tyrrey had well herd Habourey, ye
messenger / he became as reed as a bronde of fyre / and
regarded the messenger fyersly, and sayd, 'A voyde The Emperor
rages againitt it
my syght, thou fals gloton3 / but that I doute to be envoy,
16 reprouod, I shold cause thee to be hew en 4al to4 peces, him.
but a messenger oughte not to be touched for any
wordes that he can speke / but saye to thy lord / that
by him & by his cause6 I haue6 7 had slayne7 mo then
20 xx.M. men, besyde my thre neuewes and my yonger
brother ; but by that8 lorde that dyed on a8 crosse to
redeme vs all, I wyll neuer haue peace with hym tyll I He refuses to
' make peace,
haue hym at my pleasure / nor neuer returne agayne
24 hider to me nor none other vpon any such message.'
When Habourey the messenger herde the emperour,
he was in grete fere, and wolde gladly he had ben in
Burdeux / then he departed without any mo wordes4 and Harbourey
takes hie leave.
28 spekynge, and rested not tyll he came to Burdeux / 9he
wente to the palays, where as he founde duke Huon /
then he sayd, ' Syr, I haue ben with themperour / and
shewed hym at length10 all youre message /but his He repeal to
Huon the
32 answere wyll not serue to your demaunde / for he sayd Emperor's
answer.
to me / that he wyl haue no peace with you tyl he haue
1 bv. 2 omitted, 3 vnrlet. 4-4 in. 6 meanes.
* « FoL lxxxii. back, col. 1. 7-7 i^t. 8 tjje>
9 where.
10 full.
344
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. ciii.
you at his pleasure / to do with you what he wyl / and
thus I departed from hyin, and lefte hym syttynge at
his table at dyner.'
Huon is sore
displeased,
end gives order
for a sudden
sortie.
The Germans are
dining, and do
not perceive the
approach of the
French.
Hnon and his
companions fight
wildly, and hew
down their
% Howe Huon yesued out of Burdeux & came 4
to the tentes & fought with themperour.
Cap. C.iiii.
fHcn Huon vnderstode y* messenger he
was full of yre and dyspleasure, and 8
sayd / ' syrs, I commaunde you al in
hast go and arme you / for, or2 euer y°
Almayns he rysyn fro theyr dyneres,
and armed I shall make .them so sorowfull that they 12
shall curse the houre that euer they were home / for I
had rather dye then to leue them in this poynt, for I
wyl go serue them of theyr fyrst messe.' then euery
man armed hym / and Huon lept on8 his good horse 16
Amphage / then he toke4 leue of the fayTe Esclaramonde
hys wyfe, an so departed out of Burdeux with his
company, and rode toward es themperours tentes / the
same tyme themperour was rysyn fro his tahle / and he 20
had ordeyned .iii. hondred men on horse hacke to kepe
y* tentes whyles he was at dyner / then Huon and his
company came so quyckly that he was amonge them, or2
they perceyued any thynge, & he cryed 1 Burdeux/ & 24
strake a knyghte vrith his spere clene through the hody,
so that he fell deed to the erth / then he ran at a
nother and semed. him in lyke wyse, & so he slew
iiii or5 his spere Drake / then he drew his swerde 28
& hette downe men & horses / & Drake the thyckest
presse, so that euery man gaue hym way / and
Gerames / Othon / Barnarde / & Rycher,6 & all his
company dyde meruayles in armes / 7 so moche they 32
1 Fol. lxxxii. back, col. 2.
6 before.
vpon.
* his.
6 Rychard, always so written in 1601 ed.
7 acd.
Digitized by
Ca. ciiii.] op huon's bold sortie.
345
dyd that wit/dn a shorte space the thre .C. Almayns The guard, about
that were set to kepe y* tenths were all slayne / then slain," " **"
Huon & his company entred in amonge ye tentes & and the French-
. i liii^i Qi.o i ii men make havoc
4 pauylyons j1 they bete downe2 tentes, & suche as they among them,
met were slayne / then ye almayns on all partes armed
them / & thonperour sowned his trompettes, & armed
him / he was so sorowful & angry with ye trauel & The Emperor is
8 domage he was put to by Huo?i / that he enraged & was a^tracfed.
nere out of his wyt / for nyght & day he coulde take
no rest. When he was armed, he mounted on his
horse, & xx .M. Almayns with him, & they all sware the wuh twenty
12 deth 3 of Huon / whom god defende, for, yf he longe SoveetoSe"116
taryed there, he sholde be in daunger of his lyfe / but ******
he was wyse and sage4 in feates of armes ;5 he loked
towardes the emperours tente and sawe wel twenty
16 thousande men redy to come vpon hym / then he sayd
to his men / 'syrs, it is tyme that we recule6 to oure Huon orders his
M , . win in men to "treat.
cyte / we may wel now go witnout blame / 7we may
noo lenger tary here without grete daunger' / 'syr/
20 quod Gerames, ' we be redy to do your commaunde-
ment ' / then they toke the way to returne to the cyte /
but the emperour, who desyred gretly the deth of Huon,
he and his men pursued Huon as faste as theyr horses The Emperor
a j i •• a , i i . i ' tt pursues them,
24 wolde8 go / and when the emperour was nere to Huon, and, coming up
he sayd, 'A, thou fals traytoure, so many tymes thou msuiuhto
haste troubled & angred me that lenger I wyll not k™"7'
suffre the to lyue / turne towarde me, for with the
28 I wyll iust, or elles I shall slee the flyenge / I hadde
rather9 dye then not to take of the vengeaunce for the
hurtes that thou haste done tome' / when Huon herde
how the emperour called him traytour, he was sore
32 dyspleased, & turned his horse towarde the emperour, Huon turns to do
and sayd, ' A, false olde churle, where as thou saycst I UtUe with ^
am a traytoure / I shall shewe the how thou lyest
1 where. 2 the. 3 Fol. lxxxiii. col. 1. 4 discreet
6 and. 6 retire. 7 for. 8 could. 9 to.
Digitized by
Google
316
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. CV.
falsely* / then they ranne eche at other with theyr
speres iu theyr restes, so that they met so rudely and
etrake eche other on theyr sheldes by suche force that
theyr sheldes brast1 a sonder / themperoure was a 4
puyssaunt prynce, so that his spere brast1 all to peces /
and the Emperor but Huons spere was stronge & helde, wherwith he gaue
narrowly escapee
death. the emperoure suche a stroke that shelde nor haubert
coulde not warraunt hym, but that ye spere entred in to 8
themperours syde / so that yf he had not swarued
a syde, he had not scaped y'2 deth / that stroke was so
sore that themperour fell to y* erth in such wyse that
nere hande he hadde broken his necke with ye fal,<fc so 12
lay in a swone. Huon, seynge themperour lyenge on ye
erth, 8 in grete yre4 & dyspleasure5 desyred to haue
slayne themperour / then he drewe out his good2
Huon would hare swerde, & turned to 6 him to haue stryken6 of his heed / 16
tat thefennane the whiche he had done, yf he had not ben quyckely2
J^rei^h' rescued / but the Almaynes fro all partes cam thyther /
so that they rescued themperour fro deth, and set hym
on a hors with moche payne / then he thanked our 20
lorde god tAat he was so7 scaped, and made auowe
The Emperor to to god that he wolde neuer more fyght witA Huon
longing for hande to hande / but he wolde pursue hym to the deth,
yf he coude. 24
% How Huon made another issue out of
Burdeux, and toke away al the bestes that
were in the pasturs without the towne
pertaynynge to themperours hoost. 28
Cap. C.v.
1 burst. 2 omitted. * Fol. Ixxxiii. col. 2. * rage.
6 he. •-• strike. T well.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. CV.] HOW HUON 8LAYS THE EMPEROR'S BASTARD SOX.
347
Hen Huon saw that he coude do no
more at that tyme, and that ye Almayns
encreased in grete n ombre to haue
4
lepes that it semed he had flowen in the ayre / he had
his swerde in his hande, and strake therwith so gret
8 strokes that none durst approche nere hym / thus he
rode after his men and led them towardes the cyte as
y* shepherde doth his shepe, for as soone as his
enemies approched nere hym, he shewed theym his
12 shelde and spere poynt / and as he rode there came
a yonge knyght named Gerard / ryghte hardy and Gerard, a bastard
valyaunt in armes ; he was bastarde sone to the Emperor, pursues
, . « and defies him.
emperoure / who desyred greatly to wynne honoure
16 and prayse / he sawe Huow on his good horse, and
sa we1 that no man durst approche nere2 him / 8 cam
after him & cryed, ' A, thou fals traytowr, to flye awaye4
shall not auayle 6 the, for I brynge thy dethe in the
20 poynt of my spere, with ye whiche I shall slee the
fleynge without thou turne to me, for or6 thou scape
me I shall cause the to be hanged in the syght of them
within Burdeux' / when Huon vnderatode the knyglit,
24 and saw the grete hate and yre7 that he was in, and
herynge howe he called hym traytoure / he thought
and sayd to hymselfe / that he had rather dye then he
that had sayd these wordes shold 8departe8 without
23 felynge the sharpenesse of his spere / the whiche he Huon turns agatn
couched in the rest and eporred his horse, who ranne him, so that be
lyke the thonder / 9 he gaue the knyght suche an kUUbim*
horryble stroke / that10 his shelde nor11 armure coude
32 saue his lyfe / for his spere persed through bothe his
sydes, and8 was clene borne ouer his hors croupe starke
1 likewise. 2 vnto. 3 hee. 4 it
5 Fol. lxxxiii. back, col. 1 . 6 ere. 7 rage.
8-8 haue departed. 9 and. 10 iieithcr. 11 his.
348
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Co. CV.
All the Germans
flee before him in
fear.
Bat he loses many
men at every
and is in great
peril.
He was fighting
with thirty
thousand
Germans,
bnt he returns at
length to the city
in safety.
Hoon begins to
despair of his
fortune.
The Emperor
moves his host
nearer to the
walls,
deed / 'go thy waye,' qw)& Huon, 'thou shalte neuer
haue power to do any man djspleasure1 more' / 2then
he drewe his swerde, wherwith he delte suche dys-
syplyne among the Almayns that all fled before hym. 4
Gerames / Othon / and Bernarde & Rychar employed
theyr forces and vertues ryght valyauntly / but the
Almayns dyd so moche that Huon lost parte of his
men, and the rest he ledde with him / oftentymes he 8
turned and returned agaynst his enemyes / but what so
euer force or prowes he shewed, yf he had not in hast
gone away / he nor neuer3 one of his men hadde scaped
without deth / for mo then .xxx. M. Almayns were 12
nere hym, and all they4 desyred his deth / but god
dyd hym that grace / that he and the small nombre that
he had lefte entred with hym in to the cyte, and ye
gates6 closed / and themperour in grete dyspleasure 16
retourned to his tent / and by the waye he founde his
bastarde sone deed / for whom he made suche sorowe
that his lordes nor his broder coude not apease hym ;
and so he caused hym to be borne to the tentes, 20
and was gretely complayned of all the barons / 6 for he
was tyke to haue ben a7 noble man. And Huon went
to his palayes, where he founde the fayre Esclaramounde,
who demaunded how he dyde. 'Ryght well, lady/ 21
quod Huon ; ' thanked be god I am returned in saue
garde, but I haue lost many of my men ; ' and therwith
he wepte, and the lady comforted hym as moche as she
myghte / then themperour, beynge in his hoost, 28
knowynge for trouth that Huon had but a small
company in the cyte and that he thought he coude do
hym but small domage fro thensforth / dyslodged and
cam and lay nerer to ye cyte, and dressed vp his engyns 32
and montons8 to breke the walles, and made euery daye
any.
8 and.
4 those. 5 were.
fl Fol. Ixxxiii. back, col. 2.
8 mountains.
7 verie.
Digitized by
Ca. CV.] HOW THE SIEGE 18 PROLONGED.
349
betynge1 at the walles ; and they within defended them uidMtauiu the
valyauntly2 with theyr crosbowes ; many men, bothe T^ent^thaa
within and without, were slayne / this syege endured
4 fro the begynnynge of August vnto3 Eester after / From August to
* ** ~ Easter does the
wherof Huon was sore dyspleased,and4 complayned for siege continue,
the losse of his noble barons / and5 men that he had
lost Also he sawe his tours and gates sore6 beaten,
8 and his enemyes 7 before his 8 cyte / and loked for no
Bocours fro any parte / and 9 he had with hym 10 but 10 Only three
hundred men are
thre hondred knyghtes and a honored men to kepe the now with Huon,
cyte with all / then he called Esclaramonde his wyfe,
12 and sayd, 'Dame,11 1 knowe well ye endure trouble and
dyspleasure ynough / and therfore I pray you & ye can
gyue me any good cou?isell, gyue it me12 / for the yre13
& dysplesure that I haue at my herte troubleth so myne »»«. not
* knowing what to
16 vnderstondynge that I can not tell what to do / & 12 on do, asks
Esclaramonde to
y* other parte I se my cyte besyeged & my men slayn, give him counsel,
nor I can gete 14 none apoyntment14 "with themperour,
who15 is so 16 sore dysplesed witft me that I can neuer
20 haue his loue / he hath slayne my men, wherof I am so
sorowfull that my herte nere fayleth me ' / 4 sir,1 quod
Esclaramonde, ' ye do grete wronge to say these worde*
before me or 17 to complayn yowr domages / if ye wold a18 8J*^5^hheer
24 beleued me19 20 ye had gone to my brother for socoure, should go to her
brother for aid.
who wold haue come with you & brought21 such22
nombre of men that themperour durst not18 abyden
you, & also to haue made ther by my brother a crysten
28 man, for he hath byleued in our lorde god this seuen
yere past ' / ( dame,' 23 qnc/d Huon, ' all that ye say
my glit well haue ben,24 but I had leuer25 haue lost thre
1 battering. 2 for. 3 to the. * verie much.
6 other good. 6 so. 7 lying. 8 the. 9 that.
10— w not aboue. 11 Madmne. 12 now. 13 rage.
14~14 no agreement. 15 for he is. 10 omitted.
17 in this sort, 18 haue. 19 then.
20 Fol. Ixxxiiii. col. 1. 21 you. 22 a. 23 Madame.
24 done. 26 rather.
Digitized by
Google
.350
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cv.
Hnon tiill
hesitates to
abandon his wife
and friends in so
great a danger,
but he knows. If
he has no succour,
his city and
himself and his
men will foil into
the Emperor's
hands.
He therefore
determines to
seek out his
brother-in-law.
Esclnramonde
fears that the city
must fall in his
absence,
bnt nerertheless
bids him depart
at once.
Hnon tells her of
» devioo whereby
the town may be
victualled.
such cytes as this is1 then to baue lefte you, & my lordes,
& good burgesses, whom I loue so faythfully. yf I
had but a .M. knightes to defend e my cyte / wit/* an
yll wyll I shall* departe fro you, for I am 8 in certayne5 4
that yf I go and seke for socours I shall haue payne
ynough, & ye that shall abyde here are lyke to haue
more.4 I know wel that themperour, who5 hateth vs,8
setteth all his entent to haue vs / & yf he take yon, ye 8
shall be in grete paryll / & yf I tary here with you, &
go for no socour / this cyte wyl be taken &7 famisshed /
& both you, & I8 distroyed / for themperour, who
loueth vs but9 lytell, and not with out a cause, yf he 12
may take me I shall dye of1 a shamefull dethe / it is
no meruayle though10 he be displeased with me / for I
haue slayn his sones & neuewes, & many of his best
frendes; yf he maye take me I shall haue no pyte 16
shewed to1 me / & I know well with out I haue some
socours myne ende is at ha?ide / wherfore, dame,11 I
thynke it best that I go to your brother for socours /
for I12 haue taryed ouer long ' / ' syr/ qitod Esclaramond, 20
' ye speke it13 very late / for now ye know well that all
our brede and wyne / and flesshe / & fysshe / begyn to
fayle vs, and all14 other vytales / wherfore it shall15 not
be longe after your departure but that this cyte shall18 24
be taken and dystroyed / and the men within slayne /
and I ledde in to grete mysery / yet for all that I wold
not couwseyle you to abyde here / but I pray you make
hast to departe.' When Huon herde her, he began to 28
wepe / and abasshed17 his chere to the erth,and studyed18
a lytell, and19 sayd, 'Dame,11 I thynke vpon 20 one
thynge / the whiche to you shall16 be ryght 1profy table /
wherby ye shall haue vytayle ynoughe to lyue by1 an 32
1 omitted. 2 should. s~s assured. 4 for. 6 f«o.
8 na he. * or. 8 be. 9 a. 10 if. 11 Madame.
12 see that I. 13 of this. 14 our. 16 cannot.
16 will. 17 abashing. 18 studying. 19 he.
*° Ful. lxxxiiii. col. 2.
Digitized by
Ca. CV.] HOW HUON 8EIZKS THE EMPEROR'S HERDS.
331
hole yore.' ' Syr/ quod she, ' of that I thanke god, yf it
may so come to passe.' 'Dame/1 quod Huon, ' I shall
tell you how this cyte may be reuytayled without2 grete
4 losse of any men / trewe it is8 here without in the The Emperor
medowe there are two hondred men set there by the for* hu^t tUe
Emperoure to kepe y* beestes pertaynyng to his hoost,
the whiche are without nombre / what in beeffes /
8 keen / and hogges / and mo then x thousande shepe /
the4 whiche beestes 5 by the grace of Iesu, or5 I slepe I and the* he will
bring into the
wyll brynge them4 in to this cyte / and than ye may slee city,
them and pouder theym in salte, soo that ye shall haue
1 2 no famyn for a hole yere.' ' Syr,' quod she, ' I pray to6
god ye may brynge it7 to passe.' thus they taryed tyll8
souper tyme / and after when it was nyght / & that
they thought that they of ye hoost were a slepe / and
16 sawe that the wether was troublous9 as they wolde
desyre it, he armed hym and all his men / he10 set men Hnon arms his
at the gate to defende hym at his reculynge.11 Then he adventure,
mounted on12 his good horse / then10 he opened the gate, city by night!
20 and yssued out as preuely as he myght / and tooke the
way to the medowe and came thyder / and Huon then
cryed, and sayd / 'a, ye vyllaynes, this pasturage is
myn / I come to chalewge it / in an yll13 houre ye put He challenge, the
24 your beestes here to pasture ; ye shall make me caute?o surrender
amendes / for14 the beestes that I fynde here in my ihem 10 hha'
pasture I wyll goo and pounde theym / and yf the
emperoure wyll haue theym he must bye them and
28 make amendes for theyr forfeyt, & ye that be the
kepere shall derely a bye it.'
1 Madame. * 2 any. 8 that. 4 omitted. *-* ere.
6 vnto. ' 7 well. 8 vntill. 9 euen. 10 and.
11 recoiling. 12 vpj>on. 13 euill. 14 all.
352
They prepare to
fight,
bat Huon slays
very many of
them forthwith.
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. CV.
He and hfs
companions kill
all the two
hundred keepers,
save one, who
escapes to warn
the Emperor.
The Emperor
rushes forth with
his men, but the
cattle had already
entered the city.
Huon and his
men turn upon
the Germans who
were In pursuit of
and kills many of
them with his
own baud.
Hen the kepers herd Huon speke they
had grete fere / 2 they thought to haue
gon and taken theyr horses, &3 to haue
defended them selfe, but Huon & his 4
company gaue them no layser so to
doo / then4 Huon with his spere strake one starke
deed, & after he slew ye seconde / 6 the thyrde / &
fourth / & so slewe many as long as his spere helde ; 8
then he set his hande on his swerde, wherwith he claue
a sonder helmes and sheldes and bette downe men on
euery syde, & Gerames / Othon / & Rycher / dyde
valyaurttly. 2so moche dvd Huon and his men within a 12
shorte space that the two hondred men that kept the
beestes were all slayne except one, who scaped & ran to
thewperours boost ; then7 he shewed themperour how
Huon & his men were yssued out of the cy te, and that 1 6
all the kepers of the beestes were all8 slayne, and
y* beestes taken and dryuen in to y* cyte / when
themperoure herde these tydynges he was ryght
sorowfull, and armed hym & his men, & lept on theyr 20
horses & ranne towardes the cyte to stoppe Huon fro
entrynge in to ye cyte / but or9 they came thyder al ye
beestes were entred in to y* cyte / &10 when Huon saw
themperour comynge, he sayde to11 his men, 'syrs, 24
I requyre you let vs turne vpon oure enemyes who
cometh after vs / for I wold fayne shewe them how
men that cometh fro foraging can rynne with theyr
8pere8.' then they turned agaynst the Almayns so that 28
eche of them bare a man to the erth, & they drew
theyr swerdes / & slew men rouwde aboute them / and
Huon vpon his good hors Amphage held his swerde in his
hande all 12 be sprent12 with y' bloode of his enemyes, 32
wherwith he cutte of armes, legges, & handes / he was
1 Fol. Ixxxiiii. back, col. 1. 2 and. 8 so.
6 then. 6 verie. 7 where. 8 omitted.
i° Now. 11 vnto. 12"u to be sprinkled.
* for.
9 before.
Digitized by
Ca. CVl] HOW HUON PREPARES TO SEEK FOR SUCCOUR.
353
more clouted then the deuyll / for by his prowes he dyd
so moche that, his enemy es fled before hym and made
hym *way, so that in 2 the spyte2 of al the Almayns,
4 after that he and his men had slayne foure M. of his Poor thousand
men lie dead on
enemy es / he entred into the cite with all the pray of the Held.
his beestes / wherwith themperour & his men that
folowed were sore dyspleased for the losse that they The Emperor is
* tore distressed*
8 had,3 & for that Huon was so scaped fro theyr handes /
and that he had taken away there beestes and slayne
his men / thus as ye haue herde Huon entred into the
syte of Burdeux with all his praye.
for ye haue nowe wytayle ynoughe for a hole yere.
BTowe I wyll go to your brother / & yf I fynde that He wui depart at
28 he wyl be chrystened, I shall bryng hym with me / yf mi»ion t»*her
not, I shall defye hym and slee hym without he wyll boufhe wiu not
beleue on Iesu chryste, what so euer fortune falL' SJuSa^hta.11*
'Syr/ quod Esclarmonde, sore wepynge, 'haue no
32 dought5 / for it is more then .vil yeres syns he desyred
1 Fol. Ixxxiiii. back, col. 2. *— 2 despite. 3 receiued.
12 % How Huon of Burdeux made hym redy to
go to seke for some socours, & of the sorowe
that the duches his wyfe made. Ca. c.vi.
Fter that Huon was entred in to the
16 £y^jfjf@fl cyte> ne wente to his palays, & there
fouwde the duches Esclaramonde,
who vnlased his helme & clypped &
kyssed him, & said, ' s/r, I pray you,
4 Fol. Ixxxv. col. 1.
CHARL. ROM. VIII.
* of that
A A
Digitized by
854 huon op burdeux. [Ca. cvi.
to be chrystenyd, wherfore, syr, I requyre you lone my
brother' / 'dame,'1 quod Huon, 'I shall do your plea-
Haon calls his sure ' / then he called to hym hys preuy frendes, and
friends together, ' J J f J >
•nd uiforms them sayd / i 8yr8, ye knowe wel what daunger and parell we 4
be in : and by-cause in all thyngys nedefull2 oughte to
be made prouysyon with delygens / this citye is nowe
He bids them well prouyded of vytayle, wherfore ye shal not nede to
remain quietly r j J
within the city in make enye issuinge out without ye se 8 a8 great ad wan- 8
hie absence,
tage : and as for assawlt, yf ye defende it well it is
inpreyngnable for our enemyes to wyn it4 / yf ye be to
yeld it vp, beware what ye do / for the great hate that
the emperour hathe agaynst vs paraduenture wyl con- 12
oftheir'dan^*"1 ^^F116 *° breke his promys : yf ye be taken by
force, or by this meanes, ye shall all dye myserably, &
my wyfe8 murdred 8vp3 in pryson, or elles myserably
to fynyshe her dayes / and my ly tell doughter, Claryet, 16
whome I loue so derely,8 shal be lost, and my citye dys-
He entrusts to troyed and brought to vtter ruyn / wherfore I oom-
them the keeping J ° J '
of his wife and maunde7 vnto you my wyfe & my doughter and all the
daughter. 4 *
rest 8tyl my8 returne agayne, the whiche ahalbe shortely 20
y f I may / and I shall brynge with me suche socoure that
ye shall al be ioyfull therof ' / 9< Syr/ quod Gerames,
4 god gyue grace to sende you agayne in sauegard / ye
knowe wel10 ye leue vs in great pouerte and fere, wher- 24
Gerames and his fore we al desyre you not to forget vs/ and therwith
companions weep
on hearing Huou's they al wepte / then Huon sayd, 1 1 praye you make no
suche sorowe for my departynge : for11 knowe the busy-
nes that causeth me to departe : for without I go for 28
some socoure ye know well we ar but dede / &, Gerames,
I gyue you the kepynge of my wyfe and chyld / ye ar
bounde to serue me trewely / for in you I haue my
parfyght trust \' ' Syr,' quod Gerames, ' haue ye no 32
1 Madame. 2 there. *- 8 omitted, * but
6 bee. • shee. 7 commend. 8-8 vntiU L
• Foi. Ixxxv. col. 2. w that.
u yee.
Digitized by
Ca. cvi.] op htjon's departure for the east. 355
doughte but that as longe as I haue lyfe in my body, I but c
shal not fayle them in lyfe nor detheV protect
E»clararaonde and
IT When Huon hard Gerames say so, he began sore curiet, so long as
4 to wepe / and the fayre lady Esclaramonde be gan to
make suche sorowe that1 pety it was to see:2 she Esdaramonde is
sorely grieved
wrange hyr handes and tare hyr here, and made suche when Huon takes
* lesYO of her.
crye88 that euery man had pety of hyr / 4 they comforted
8 hyr as moche as they myght : she had great cause to
wepe and to be sorowfull / for 6 or euer5 Huon returned
to Burdeaux she and all they that were with her suf-
feryd so moche payne and pouerte that to shewe it wold
1 2 cause a harde harte to wepe for petye. And after that
Huon had thus spoke to his companye, he entered in
to his chapell, & was confessyd of the bysshop of the Huon is confessed
r ' J J r by Uie bishop of
citye, 6 and was hoselyd.6 Then the bysshop gaue to the city,
& who gives him a
16 Huon a stoole that was halowed and of great vertue, & hallowed stool,
sayde, ' syr, I requyre you, for ye loue of our lorde Iesu
chryst / kepe well this stoole, for such an owre maye which should
. „ , . , _ . , , , „ , stand him in
falle that it wyl stand you in good stede. Huon ryght good sued.
20 humbly toke it, and thankyd the bysshope. It dyd
hym good seruyse after7 / for on a daye as he passed
he / 8 had therof so great nede that he wolde not a for-
borne it for .xiiiL good cities, as ye shall here9 after.
24 How Huon departed fro the cytye of Bur-
deaux, and say led tyl10 he came into the
hye see, & had manye great fortunes.
Ca. .cvii.
, Hen Huon had taken the halowed
stoole, he delyuered it to his chapleine,
who was a wyse man and of a holy
lyfe, and commaundyd hym to kepe it
_. . , . . . . Huon takes with
well. Then he toke .v. knyghtes to him five knights,
1 great. 2 her. 3 out-cries. * yet. *-6 before.
°- 8 and receiued the Sacrament 7 afterward.
8 FoL lxxxv. back, col. 1. 9 more heereafter. 10 yntill.
A A 2
Digitized by
356
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cvii
and a chaplain
and a clerk.
Hnon finally Wdt
hit wife farewell
amid her lean.
He and hit
company embark
In a thip moored
on the Garonne,
and tail away.
Huon weept at
the thought of
having left hit
wife and
daughter.
The thip enters
the high tea.
haue with hym, and his chappleyne and a clarke to
serue hym. Then Huon went to hia wyfe, and kyssyd
her at hys departynge, and she fell in a swoune in his
armys, & Huon sore wepynge releuyd her, and sayd / 4
'fayre ladye, I requyre you forbere makyng of this
sorow.' ' A,1 syr/ quod she, ' well I ought to be dolent,a
syn ye le/'ue me me besegyd with them that desyrethe
your dethe' / 'dame/4 quod Huon, 'dyscomfort you 8
not / for by the grace of god I shall make a shorte
retourne.' Then he clypped and kyssed her, recom-
maundyng her to our lorde Iesu chryst. Then Huon
and suche as were appoynted to go vrith hym departed 12
out of the palays, and went to a backe posterne vpon
the ryuer of Geround, where there was a shyp redy and
rychely garnyshyd with all thynges conuenyente /
then6 Huon clene6 armyd & his men enterid into the 16
shyp & had no hors with them / when Huon departed,
he delyuered his good hors to the kepyng of syr Bar-
narde his cosyn / and toke his leue of Gerames and of
all his other company e / and so lyfte7 vp sayle, and 20
so8 or9 it was day in the mornynge he was more then .ii.
leges fro Burdeaux. Then Huon regarded y* citye, and
sore wepynge dyd recommaunde it to our lorde Iesu
chryste, humblye requyryng hym to haue in his saue- 24
garde his citye / wyfe / and chylde, & al other that
were within it. Thus duke Huon sayled a long the
ryuer of Gerounde, petyously complaynyng for his wyfe,
the fayre Esclaramounde, & for his fayre doughter, 28
Claryet / whom he coude not forget / for he had so great
dought to lese them that when he rememberyd them
he wepte. 10 So long they sayled10 that they enteryd
in to the hyghe see / 11 he had good cause to wepe and 32
to make12 sorow : for he neuer entered agayne in to
1 good. 2 aorowfull. 8 Fol. Ixxxv. back, col. 2.
* Madame. 6 there. 6 being. * hoysed. 8 bo omitted.
• ere. 10-10 They sayled so long. 11 and. u great.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cvii] how huon loses his way at sea.
857
Bordeaux tyll1 the emperour had taken it, who hated
duke Huon mortally. Huon beynge in his ahyp
thought in hymself, that2 his harte gaue hym or8 he
4 returned to the cytye of Burdeaux, that4 the citye shuld Huon fear* that
be taken and his wyfe6 led away / wherfore6 he deter- take^hTaty wm
myned in his corage, that if it so / 7 fortuned, and if wUUe ** to away*
euer he returned agayn, what so euer ende came therof,
8 he wolde sle the emperoure Thyrry, & that castell nor
towne shulde not saue hym. There was a notable
knyght with Huon who sayd :8 ' syr, leue your musyng Ajtnight
and set9 your hope10 in god. he shall ayde you &
12 socoure you in all your affayres11 / he shall12 helpe your
wyfe and kepe your citye tyll1 ye returne / discomforte
your selfe no further.15 thynke of god / and praye to14
hym to geue you the grace to acomplyshe your vyage /
16 the whiche I hope ye shall 15 do 16 yf ye thus do ' / when
Huon harde hym he was16 confortyd, and thanked the
knyght : and so say led forthe tyll1 they were far on17 They tail onward*
the see & loste theyr ryght way / for the shyp turned way.
20 on the ryght hand and loste the waye that they shulde
haue sayled / and saylyd in to places not knowen to
enye of the maryners / wherof the patro/i was sore
abasshed in hym selfe, without makynge eny knowleg
24 therof / 2so lowge they sayled with wynd and wether
that they aryued at a porte where as they founde many They arrire at a
port,
botes / then18 they caste theyr ancre and went a lond to where they dud
refresshe them19 / then Huon called to hym the mayster m*,iy b0ftt8*
28 of the shyp and demaundyd of hym yf he coud sayle
to ye realme of Aufamie / ' syr/ quod ye mayster, ' I
was neuer there nor I haue no wyll20 to go thether / it
were a folye for me to take on17 me to sayle thether,
1 vdUH. 2 and. 3 that before. 4 omitted,
* the faire Escleremond. 6 therefore. 7 Fol. lxxxvi. col. 1.
8 vnto him. 9 put. 10 trust. 11 enterpryzea.
12 will. ** but. 14 vnto. u-u not faile of.
18 much. 17 vppon. 18 there. 19 themaeluea*
20 minde.
Digitized by
Google
358
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca, cvii.
The pnot of the
▼easel does not
know in what
direction to Mil,
and a new pilot
U sought and
found.
He warns Hnon
that the royage to
Aufamie, the
realm of hit
brother-in-law,
is long and
perilous.
Hnon is sad at
the thought that
a whole year
must pass ere he
can return to
Bordeaux.
Huon and his
company move
into a new ship.
syn1 1 had neuer no knowlege to sayle by that straynge
see. Bat I counsayle you2 here in this porte where as
ye ar nowe to hyer a nother patron that can brynge
you thether.' 4 frende,' quod Huon, 4 I praye you to 4
do so moche as to gette me one ' / ' syr/ quod he, 4 I
shall do that8 I can' / then he and Huon serchyd fro
shyppe to shyppe and fro bote to bote to get a pelot /
at laste they 4 came to an aunsyent man / who sayd that 8
he coude well brynge them thether / and sayd how he
had bene there before that tyme. 4 Frond,' quod Huon,
4 yf ye wyll bringe me to the realme of Aufamie I shall
geue you gold and syluer plente* / 'syr/ quod the olde 12
patron, 4 1 shall do your pleasure / but, syr, one8 I say
to you / knowe for trouthe the vyage is flryghte peril-
ous & dangerous6 to passe and a7 long vyage.8 it wyll
be halfe a yeere or9 ye can com thether / and besyde 16
that we muste pas by a perelous Goulfe / the whiche is
reputed to be one of the mouthes of hel / for10 if by
aduenture by u fortune of the wynde that we be blowen
nere to18 it we shal neuer departe / but be loste for 20
euer/ when Huon hard the pylot, he began to wepe
and complayne for hys wyfe and his dere doughter
whome he had lefte in the citye of Burdeaux in great
dought18 to be taken. For he saw well then2 he coud 24
not returne14 of a hole yere with eny socours / how be
it, he lefte not his vyage / then he commaundyd his
seruantis to dyscharge all his baggage and vytayles out
of the one shyp in to the other / 15 when the new shyp 28
with ye new patron was redy in all thynges Huon
entered into it Then the newe patron demaunded of
the olde maryner the cause why thei came thether and
fro whense they came. 4 Syr/ quod he, 4 trew it is we 32
1 Beeing. 8 that. 8 what. 4 Fol. lxxxvi. col. 2.
8 thing. e-6 very daungerous for. 7 verie. 8 for.
• ere. 10 and. 11 or. 12 vnto. 13 daunger.
14 for the space. u and.
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Ca. cvii] of the dangers of the voyage.
359
came fro the citye of Burdeaux / the whiche stondethe The old mariner
telle the new
vpon a notable ryuer, and when we were entered in to pilot of the
the see / a sore wynde rose vpon vs in suche wyse that prevloU8 yoya«e»
4 we were constrayned to abandon our shype to the wynde,
and wether, and fortune of the see / the whiche hathe
brought vs hether ' / ' frend,' quod the new patron /
' as sone as ye were out of the ryuer of Gerounde, yf ye *n<J *e latter
J J shows how their
8 had turned your 1sterne towardes the airode,2 ye hadde old ship came to
. stray from the
neuer comen hether, and within a moneth ye shulde right course,
haue com to the realme of Aufamie, where as now ye
be3 far of ' / when Huon vnderstode the cause of theyr
12 comynge thether, he was ryght sorowfull and sore dys-
pleased yf he coude haue amendyd it. But his dys-
pleasure coude not ayde4 him : but rather hynder hym /
therfore he let it pas, and so toke leue of hys fyrst
16 patron, and lyfte vp theyr ancres and sayles : and when Huon seuforth
they were in the see the wynde arose / and encreased ship,
more and more 5 in suche wyse that they were more
then6 .vi. wekys that y* wynde chaungyd not, so that
20 yf god had sufferyd the wynd to haue continued one
monethe or .vi. wekys lenger, they had com to the
place where as they wolde haue bene. But or6 they
came there, they sufferyd moche payne / for there rose encounters
oi mighty storm*.
24 vpon them suche a wynde7 that they were forsed to
auayle theyr sayles. The heuen waxed darke, the mone
was couerid / the tourment was great and maruaylous,8
the waues of the se were of a great heyghte and orryble9
28 to beholde / whereby, whether they wolde or not, they
were cowstreyned to go as the wynde wolde lede them /
theyr fortune was so10 terryble / that there was neuer
sene suche a11 storme before / wherof Huon and his men
32 and his patron were 12 sore abasshed,12 and specyally the
1 Fol. lxxxvi. back, col. 1. 2 sea roade. 1 verie.
4 belpe. 6-6 for the space of. • ere. 7 and tempest
8 daungerous. • terrible. 10 great and.
u mightie. **-u greatly afraide.
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360
HUON OP BUBDECX.
[Ca. cvii.
The pilot ii patron more then Huon was / he was sore dyscom-
•oreiydisoomflted, j peteouslye he called on our lorde Iesu
chryste / requyrnge hym to bryng them to a good
porte / there was nother maryner nor patron but that1 4
and know, not were sore abasshyd,2 nor they wyste not where they
whither he ia * . , *
going, were. They were in this tourmente8 the space of .x.
dayes, In1 the whiche tyme they neuer saw the 4clere-
nes of the sonne : for the darkenesse that was there as 8
then / the which5 greatly anoyed6 them. And when
it came to the xi day, and that the tourment and wynd
began to abate and the see7 pesable and sty 11 / where
with8 Huon and his companye were well comforted : 12
At length the ran the heuen clered vp and the9 sonne cast out his rayea
appear*, alonge vpon the see / then10 when the master11 sawe
and the windi the fortune of the see, and the great tourment began to
abate.
sease, he caused one of the maryners to mounte vp into 16
the toppe to se yf he myght se12 any lond / but he coude
so none, wherof the patron was sore18 abasshyed & sayd
how14 he knew not 16wher15 he was, for he neuer saylyd
in that16 partyes / and sayd to Huon, 1 syr, it is fyfty 20
yeres synu I fyrste vsed the see / but yet I neuer sayled
in these partyes, wherof I haue great maruayle ' / when
Huon harde that he was sore dyspleasyd and sayd /
'syr, let vs take the aduantage of the wynde and let 24
our shyppe dryue vnder the conducte of our lord Iesu
chryst. I hope that our lorde god wyll not suffer vs
to be per8hy8shed in this se.' 4 Syr,' quod the patron,
4 117 agre well to your sayinge, and so let vs do ' / then 28
The ehip got* they turned theyr helme and toke the wynd in to theyr
M^on«*kno^ in ful sayle / the wynde was good and fresshe and the see18
wh^dirwuon to m^Q p^^k j 80 that within a shorte tyme19 they
had sayled a great iourney. Then Huon called on20 our 32
» all. 1 afraide. 8 for. * Fol. Ixxxvi. back, col. 2.
6 did verie. 8 annoy. T waxed. 8 therewith.
• glorious. 10 omitted. u of the shippe. 12 discrie.
18 greatly. 14 that. in what country.
18 those. 11 do. 18 very. *• space. 30 vppon.
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Ca, evil] of huon's arrival at the perilous gulp.
361
lord god and helde vp his handes towardes the1 heuen,
& sayd / 2< very god, who in this 3worlde transetory
woldeste3 wochesaue to be borne in the wombe of a
4 maid, and after 4 here reygned4 .xxxii. yeres, and then
fireseyuyd6 dethe and passyon vpon a frydaye / and after
6 rose6 from dethe to lyfe and wente into hell and drewe
out 1the1 sowles / out of 1the1 paynes inf email7 / syr,1
8 8as I beleue that this is trewe, I requyre the to haue Haon pats his
trust in Christ*
petye and compassyon of 9 vs & gyue vs grace 10 to scape
safely10 out of this perelous see / and to kepe and saue
my ryght dere11 wyfe Esclaramonde & my chylde : and
12 my noble lordes whome I haue lefte in Burdeaux in
great perell of theyr lyues, and gyue me that12 grace
that I may brynge with me suche socours and ayde that
thereby to18 brynge them out of the daunger that they
16 be in.'
% How Huon aryued on the perelous Goulfe,
wher as he spake with Iudas, and howe he
aryued at the porte of the Adamant.
20 Ca. .Cviii.
Hen Huon had made his prayers to
god / he behelde in to the see and sawe Haon looks
a farre of / lyke a great pese of can-
was / and therby he harde as 14 great a h« hears a
thunderous roar.
noyse as thoughe there had ben a
thowsande smethes and a thowsande carpenters and a
thowsande great rynnynge riuers to gether,16 betynge
28 and labourynge.16 17 Huon, who harde this great noyse :
hadde great fere therof , so that he wyste not what to do, and grows fearful.
1 omitted. 1 Thou. s~s transitorie world diddest
4— 4 afterwards diddest raigne beere vpon earth.
*-* didst suffer. that didst rise. 7 Even so.
8 Fol. Ixxxvii. col. 1. 9 vppon.
10-10 (hat we may safely escape. 11 and louing. u the,
m I may. " Fol. Ixxxvii. col. 2. all
16 (labourynge in original.) W to gether.
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362
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cviiL
and so were al tho1 that were in his companye / the
patron commaunded a maryner to mounte vp into the
toppe2 to se what thynge it was that made all that
noyse / and so he dyd,8 and behelde that waye / and at 4
Tb« ship last he parseyued the daungerous Goulfe, wherof Tie had
i^^tlorms harde often tymes spoken 4 of4 / wherof5 he had suche
one^of the gates of |ere ft^t nere hand he had fallen downe into the see /
he came downe and sayd to6 the patron, ' Syr, we be al 8
in the way to be lost, for we be nere one of the Goulfes
of hel ' / wherof Huon and the patron and all other had
suche fere that they7 trymbelydL 1 Syr,' quod the
The pilot fear* patron, ' knowe for troughthe it is inpossyble to scape 12
that they will not / 7* „ ,
pau that way in out of this perelous Gulfe / for all y 0 sees and waters
safety.
and ryuera there assemblethe to gether / and perforce
we muste passe that waye ' / when Huon harde that,8
Huon sddressss he began petyously to complayne and sayd / 1 a, swete9 16
wyfe E8claramonde, I se nowe clerely that our loues
must departe / the beaute and y* bounte that is in you
I can not forget. Alas ! I shall neuer se you.10 I
praye to our lorde Iesu christ to gyue you that grace to 20
be agreyde withe the emperoure Therry to the entente
that in peas and reste ye maye vse the resedewe of your
lyf e / for as for me I shall neuer brynge you eny socours
or ayde.' Then he studyed a season and then sayd,11 24
and prepares • good lorde, I thanke the, syn it pleasethe the that I
himself for death.
shall pas out of this worlde, I humbely requyre the to
receyue my sowle into thyne han12/des. as for the18
body and lyfe I care lytell for / synne14 it pleaseth the 28
that I shal thus ende my dayes.'15 Then Huon lefte
his wepynge and the wynde seasyd and the sayle
neawrtothT a^a*e^ : y©t neuer the lease, the shyppe styll went
perilous waters, forthe a lone in such wyse as thoughe it had flowen on 32
1 those. s of the mast 8 and looked round about him.
*-4 omitted. 6 and thereof. 6 vnto. T all.
8 then. 9 and louing. 10 more. 11 againe.
u FoL lxxxvii. back, col. 1. 15 my. *« seeing.
u and depart this life.
Digitized by
Ca. cviiL] how the ship miraculously escapes the danger. 363
ye see / * Syr/ quod the maystor,1 <ye maye se clerely2
that we nede not to trawaile our selfe to gyde our
shyppe / for the Goulfe that is so nere vs drawethe the The gulf draws
4 snyp to8 hym in suche haste as ye maye see. 4Anone danger,
ye shall se that we shall toumble therin ' / 4 mayster,'
quod Huon, 'it is conuenyente6 that we abyde the
aduenture and fortune of the see, such as our lorde god
8 wyll sende. lette vs truste in hym, and desyre hym
that his pleasure be folfylled : 4 more I can not 6saye,
for agaynste hym we can not6 stryue.' Then Huons
chapelayne confessen them one after another.4 Then
12 incontynent the great noyse seasyd. For7 they came
thether at a good poynte / for the8 same tyme as they r 9 Happily the gnif
- . „ . waa very fall, so
fortune was y* gulfe was full and playne / so that a that ship* might
shyppe myght pas ouer it without daunger as well as ■axety.*"
16 in a nother place of the see / 4 when the patron sawe
that, he sayde to Huon, ' Syr, we oughte greatly to
thanke our lorde god / for we ar nowe come at suche
a tyme that the Goulfe is full and playne, so that we
20 maye passe ouer suerly wtt/t oute any daunger ' / when
Huon harde that, he was ryght loyfull and all wepynge
he knelyd downe and so dyd all the companye, and Huon and hit
dewoutly they thanked our lord god that he had sent ™d th^kSod
24 them that9 grace. Then Huon rose vp and saw besyde laiTalion.
hym a great pese of canwasse. And the waues of the a piece of canru
. , . , , , m »■ •«« »bove the
see / betynge agaynste it witn great vyolence / wherof wavee,
he hadde great marueyle. For the waues of the see
28 bet 10 so sore agaynste the clothe and with so great
vyolens : that they recuied backe / & for all the
betynge of the see agaynste the canuas yet it brake not.
Then Huon harde a woyse cryenge on hye, npetuously 11 and apiu»a«
voice ie heard,
32 complaynynge, saynge, ' O, very god, in an yll oure I eompiaining of
was borne when I solde the pusuant god who ded me fortune.
1 of the shippe. 8 euidently. 8 vnto. 4 and.
* naw. omitted. T But. 8 verie. • good,
w Fol. lxxxvU. back, col. 2. and pitifully.
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364
HUON OP BURDEUX
[Ca. cviii
It tell, how
Jmus wu sinfully
•old for thirty
and how he who
did the deed was
blinded by the
devil.
The pilot aaks
who It ii that
makes the pitiful
complaint,
bat no answer is
vouchsafed.
Then Hoon
repeats the
question.
that grace1 as to take me as one of hys dyceyples &
apostelles / and for the goodnes that he dyd me I ren-
deryd hym an yll8 rewarde for the dewyll : the enemye
of all humayne lynage enteryd into my body, ye whiche 4
was ful of synne / and exortyd me to selle my god &
good lorde / for .xxx. pens of money that was then
corante in the countre of Iudee / and, vnhappy that I
was, yf I had trusted in his great niarce all the trespas 8
that I had done had bene forgeuen me. But pryde and
mysbeleue and wanhope3 that was in me wtt/t the
deuyll: who blyndyd myne vnderstowdynge,4 wolde
not suffer me to haue enye hope of grace or pardon for 12
my trespas. For of my synne I neuer had repe/itaunce.
And the deuyll doughtynge to haue loste me put me in
to dysparasyon, wherby I loste 5goddes grace.6 For yf
I wolde haue axed marcy of my lord god he wolde 16
haue pardoned me of all the trespas that I had com-
xnytted agaynst hym. Alas ! 6 caytyue that I am, fro
hense shall I neuer departed7 IF when the mayster of
the shyppe harde this woyce / he demaunded of hym 20
and sayd / ' what arte thou that thus peteously com-
playnethe ? I commaunde the to shewe me 8yf 8 there
be any man leuynge in this worlde that can ayde and
socoure the, and caste the out of the9 payne that thou arte 24
in : ' when the voice hard hym, he spake no mo wordes
nor gaue10 none answere.11 Then Huon "awaunsed
hymselfe to the bourde of the shyppe,18 desyrous to know
what thynge it was that made that peteous14 complaynte, 28
and sayde, ' Thou that so sore doste complayne,15 1 con-
iure the in the name of our lorde Iesu chryste and by
all his powre, and by the gloryous16 vyrgyn saynt Mary
1 fauour. 8 euill. 8 false hope. 4 and.
6— 6 the grace of god. 6 poore.
7 but alwaies to remaine in this torment and paine.
8-8 and whether. 9 torment and. 10 made.
II at all. " Fol. lxxxviii. col. 1. 13 being. " pitimll.
16 and mourne. 16 blessed.
Digitized by
Ca. cviii]
OP JUDAS ISCARIOT.
365
his mother / and by all the sayntes & holy aungelles
and areangelles : that are in ye realme of paradyse /
and by all that euer god 1made1 in heuen and in erthe /
4 that thou answere and shewe me what man thou arte,
and who hathe put the here2 / and wherfore thou art
here : and wether thou maysto come to vs or not : &
what is thy name : and why that this canwas is here
8 set / wherfore it seruethe : 3 and yf euer it may be put
fro the.3 And also shew me yf euer thou shalte
departe4 hens or not.
IF When this woyse had harde Huon cowiure hym
12 in such wyse, it answered hym shortely and sayde:
' 0 thou mortall man that haste coniured me so sore : The reply comet
_ - - , -ri.i, n that it is Judas
and 6 a5 desyryd0 to know my name, I shall shewe 7 the ; iscariot who u
know7 for sartayne that my name is Iudas, &8am the9 *peakln*
16 same man that solde10 Iesu Chryste to the lues for
.xxx. pens thaw beynge corante11 in the countree of
Iudee / & deltueryd into theyr handes my ryght dere
lorde and mayster, who so moche 12honoure had done to11
20 me, as to 13holde me with hym13 as one of his apostelles,
and by a false and faynte loue I kyssed hym on the
mouthe6 to shewe the lues wiche he14 was. And after He recites how
I saw hym beten and yll intretyd as ye may here16 in Ms Master inured
24 the holy scryptures & Ewangelystes : who wof his betrayed Him,
passyon hathe made mensyon16 / and when I sawe how
I had betrayed my mayster, I was sorowfull17 and sore
dyspleasyd 18 but I neuer durst cry hym marcy / whfelrein but dared not ask
Him for mercy.
28 I dyd19 great foly / for he was so petuous20 and full
of marcy,21 yf I had cryed hym marcy he wolde22 afor-
geven me / but the dewy 11, whiche is ennemye to all
1-1 hath made and created. 2 in this miserie.
3 omitted. 4 from. 6—6 also hast. 6 for.
7-7 vnto the. 8 I. 9 selfe. 10 our lord. 11 money.
12—u honoured. 13-13 account 14 he he in original.
u read. is—u therein haue made mention of his passion.
17 at my hart. 18 Fol. Ixxxviii. col. 2. 19 commit
» pitifull. 21 that 22 haue.
366
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cviiL
He stranded vmayne creatures, wold not suflfre me to do it But I went
tre«, and strangelyd and ha?igyd my selfe on a tree.1 whew
and hi« tool was I was dede my sowle was taken and set in the plase
to remain there where as ye see me now : and here I shall be2 for euer 4
in tourmente and 3 in 3 payne / for nener shall I departe
from hens : for no we it is to late to call for grace, for 4y*
dome4 is geueh vpon me : wherfore I do and muste suffer
this tourmen & payne : 6 for all the waters and ryuers of 8
ye world doth assemble together here, there6 as I am in
Tormented unto this Goulfe / wher I am so 7 beten and tourmented by
death, Jadaa
cannot die. the great waues and course of the great ryuers. Thus
I am tourmented and can not8 dye, nor neuer come out 12
The canrae, on of this tourmente nor payne / this Canwas that ye de-
whlch he lies, was . , ' ,rt . . ,
gi?en him by ood maunde wherto it 9dothe serue,9 and whye10 it is here
the wind on the set, know for11 trouthe, that on a day I gaue it for the
b^osehe once loue of god / nor I neuer gaue after eny thyng for goddes 16
canfas^charfty sake, as lor?ge as I ieuyde / and therfore when I was
forth* love of ^ here, our lorde god wolde that the good dede that I
had done in geuynge this canwas for his sake, shulde
not be vnrewardyd : therfor our lorde god wold that 20
this Canwas shulde be set on my ryght syde, to the
entente12 to saue me from the wynde, and from the
great waues of the see that13 cometh so boysteously a
gaynst me / as ye haue sene how they bete agaynste 24
this Canwas / I had no grace to aske marcye of our
lorde god for my trespas, the deuyll was so great withe
me / wherfore let euery man take ensaple by me, and
aske marcy while he haue space.1 14 Thus I haue 28
Hnonadrises shewed you all my dede.'15 'Judas,' quod Huon, 'I
Judas to ask for ' ^ '
God's mercy even belyue yf that thon wilte yet crye to god for marcy he
wyll haue marcy and pety of 16 the.' 4 Nay, nay,' quod
Iudas, 4 to praye can not awayle me, for I am dampned 32
1 and. 2 remaine. *— 3 omitted. 4-4 iudgement
6 continually. • heere euen. 7 sore. 8 by no meanes.
serueth. 10 wherefore. u a. 12 for. 13 here
14 Fol. lxxxviii. back, col. 1. u state. 16 on.
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Google
Ca. cviii] op the warning op judas. 367
for euer / and yf ye wyll beleue me be ware,1 tary not Judas declares
that he is for ever
here to long, for yf ye do ye shall neuer departe hense damned,
for the Goulfe, 2 the 2 whiche is nowe full and playne,
4 it wyll not reste3 long but that ye see wyll issue out, &
all the ryuers with in it / ye were happy that ye came
at the owre that ye dyd. For anone the waters wyll
Issue out with suche a bowndaunce / that the waues
8 that wyll ryse shall seme lyke hye mountaynes : it is
more then two hondred yeres synne there passyn any
shyppe this way / but that men, shyppe and all, were
swalowed in to the Goulfe / wherfore, Huon, I counsayle »n<> org* Hnon,
' / . i as he loves life,
12 the that incontynente thou departe hense / without to hasten away
from the perilous
thou wylte be lost for euer ; it is tyme that thou depart gulf,
hens whyles the Goulfe is full / it will not longe rest,
but that the waters wyll Issue out with suche brute
16 and noyse, that yf ye be .xv. leges of ye shall well here
the tourmente that it wyll make. If ye had comen but
halfe an owre soner then ye dyd ye had neuer scaped
the daunger thero£'
20 H When Huon vnderatode Iudas, he hadde great
maruayle / he1 Ioyned his handy s towards the heuen :
thankynge god of the grace that he had sente hym /
Then Huon desyred y* patron that they myght departe
24 thense in hast. ' Syr/ quod he, ' it shall be done.' Then
they drewe vp theyr sayles, and so departyd / they hade The pilot harries
the ship away,
not sayled a leege but that they sawe a farre of great «nd sees behind
brondis of fyre brynnyng4 Issuynge out of ye Goulfe so issoingfrom
the gold
28 longe and so hye that they had nere hande come to
6 theyr shyppe. And the waues that Issued out of y*
Goulfe were as hye as mountaynes, and they aproched
so nere* theyr shyppe that they 7 were nye7 perysshyd for
32 theyr shyppe was nere hand full of water, so that they
had moche to do to lade out the water, and were fayne
1 and. *— 2 omitted. 8 continue. 4 burning.
6 Fol. lxxxviii. back, col. 2. 6 vnto.
*— T had like to haue.
Digitized by
368
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cviiL
At a gTeat pac«
they passed on,
for the water
drore them
on wards.
No land is in
sight for many
weeks.
At length a high
rock with a thick
wood,
and a white
house upon it, is
seen afar off.
They sail In thst
direction,
to abate theyr sayle. For1 the water that Issuyd out
of the Goulfe draue them so rudely 2 that a hyrde coude
fleye no faster then they wente. In that case they
were a monethe, and durste neuer hoyse vp sayle / 4
8 Thus they draue a greate season without seyght4 of
any londe / then Huon called vpon god, and sayde /
' A, verey god, I hadde rather haue taryed styll in myne
own countre, and haue taken suche fortune as it shulde / 8
a6 pleased the to sende me : then here to be loste in
this straunge see. A, lady Esclaramond, I pray to6
god7 kepe you and Clary et, my doughter / 8 1 thynke I
shai neuer se you more.' Thus Huon complayned 12
saylyng in the see in fere of his lyfe.1 Thus they were
in the daunger of this Goulfe .v. wekys, and neuer
coude se londe, wher of they were in great fere / often
times they prayed to our lorde to haue petye of them. 16
Then Huon desyred the patron to mounte vp to y#
maste / to se yf he myght se any londe.1 The patron,
who greatly desyryd so to do, anone he mounted vp
and regardyd on all partyes to se yf he myght spye any 20
londe. at last he sawe afarre of an hye rocke / and on
ye heyght therof they sawe a thicke wode, and at the
enter of the wode he sawe a lytell howse / wherof he
thawkyd god, and descewdyd downe and shewyd Huon 24
what he had sene, and sayde / ' syr, yonder, a far of,
I haue sene a great rocke, & on ye heyght therof a
great thy eke wode, & therin I haue sene a lytel house,
or hermy9tage ; the howse is whyght, I can not tel 28
what yt is8 / by the grace of god or10 yt be nyght we
shall take7 londe there and refresshe vs11 / when Huow
hard that he was ryght ioyfull, and thank yd god. Then
they drewe to that parte, and had good wynde and a 32
fresshe / wenynge to haue come thether the same,
1 and. 1 swiftly. 8 but 4 seeing. 5 haue.
• vnto. T to. 8 for. 9 Fol. Ixxxix. col. 1.
10 ere. 11 our selves.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cviiL] of the rock op the adamant.
369
nyght, "but they sayled .iiii. dayes and .iiii. nyghtes,
and coude come no nerer to the woode then they were but it seems ♦<>
before, wherof they had marueyle / it semed to them them.
4 euer that the wode and the howse rose vp hygher and
hygher / 1then they coud not tell whether they went /
yf they had knowen they wold not haue gone thether
for all the golde of2 the worlde / for yf god had not They little knew
8 had petye of them they were all lykely to haue ben ap^roSuTg the
lost / for the plase that they sawe a farre of was a Adamant, winch
castell, and therin closyd the rock of the Adamant: l" very dangerou8,
the which castell was daungerous to aproche / for yf
1 2 enye shyppe come nere it and haue any Iron nayles it towards
. . ,o • , , , , H all ships with
within it, and3 a shyppe come within the syght therof, iron nails in it.
the Adamant wyll drawe the shyppe to4 hym. And
therfore in those partyes the shyppes that sayleth by Therefore ships
16 that see ar made and pynned with woodden nayles, and should be made8**
without any maner of Iron, otherwyse they he loste nliis.W00d<m
and perysshyd. For the propertye of the Adamant is
to drawe Iron to hym / thus Huon and his company
20 were there the space of .vi. dayes, goynge and saylynge
abought the rocke of the castell of the Adamand. But
yf they had had a good wynde the fyrst daye, they had
aryued euen at the whyghte howse, that they sawe The white house
24 fyrste in the woode / the which was the fayrest and most ever, is full of
rycheste howse in ye worlde, within the whiche was so and wsiybeauti-
moch golde and rychesse that no man leuinge 6coiule fully WTOUght-
esteme the walue therof / for the pyllers within that
28 howse were of Cassedony / and the walles and towres of
whyghte Alablaster. There was neuer dyscryued
in[s]crypture nor hystory the beauty of such a castell as
this was, for whenne the sonne cast his rayes on it it
32 semyd a far of to be of fyne christal, it was so clere
shynynge. In this castell was nother man nor woman : But only dead
men's bones lie
hut dede mennes bones lyenge at the gate of this within it.
1 and. 2 in. 8 that. 4 vnto.
6 Fol. Ixxxix. col. 2.
CHARL. ROM. VIII 0 B
Digitized by
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370
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cix.
castell / at the porte there lay many shyppes, so that
theyr mastes semyd a far of to be a great foreste.
% How Huon deuysed withe his patron in
regardyng of the castell of the Adamat. 4
Ca. .Cix.
The castle it
impregnable.
The thick wood
which the
marinen thought
they saw from
sfar, was made of
the masts of ships
attracted by the
Adamant, and
wrecked.
Huon'e ship
strikes her sails,
but she
approaches the
rock at a swift
pace, and the
tin Mors cannot
turn her coarse
aside.
His castel was set on a rocke of the
Adamant stone : for1 the eest to the
weest was not so stronge a castell / 8
for yf al the worlde had come before
it, and men within to defend it, conde
neuer he won by eny mortall men :
the forest that2 semyd to them a far of were ye mastes 12
of 3 the 8 shyppes that had bene there aryued by con-
stray nte of the Adamant / but for all ye shyppes that
were there / there was no 4leuyng mm / but4 there
lay 8 the 3 bones of them8 that had dyed by famyne 1G
& rage / Huon and his company had great maruayle /
for when they aproched nere to ye castell, they were
forsyd to stryke sayle / for the Adamant drewe the
shypp so sore that, yf they had not quickely stricken 20
theyr sayle, the6 shypp had broken all to peses, &
they all7 drowned in the see. The shyppe wente
so faste that it was maruayle8 to consider it.9 Then
the patron of the shyp, who was wyse & sage,10 24
knew anone how 11 they were nere to the castell of the
Adamant, because theyr shyppe went so fast without
sayle thetherward / faster then yf they had had a full
wynd in all theyr sayies / nor9 they coude not tourne 28
theyr shyppe no12 way fro that part,13 they wold gladly
haue returned 3yf they had coude,3 but it wold not be
1 from. 8 so.
4-4 man liuing therein, yet.
7 been. 8 maruailous.
11 Fol. Ixxxix. back, col. 1.
omitted.
9 and.
12
6 their.
10 discreet
any.
13 for.
Digitized by
Ca. cix.] HOW HUON KNOWS not the castle op the adamant. 371
by cause the Adamant drew xso sore the Iron1 to hym
by nature; when the patron sawe that clerely2 they
shold3 aryue there, he began peteously to wepe,4 and
4 sayde to Huon / ' syr, our lorde god hathe created vs in The pnot warns
this worlde to lyue and to dye / and there is none but mut now be
6 that 5 muste passe the passage of this, and by cause we prepared 10 dl6*
knowe suerly that no creature can scape that / wher-
8 fore6 we ought to be contente with that7 can be none
otherwyse / syr I say this that 6dethe to abyde, we
must be comforted, fur here5 we muste all dye ' / when
Huon harde the patron, he had great maruayle, and The knight does
12 sayde / ' patron, I praye you shewe me the cause why the sailor*, words,
ye say thus? / in this castell that we se before vs, is8
there9 Sarasyns within it, or spyrytes of hell that hathe
sworne our dethe / suerly I dought them not, make good
16 chere, be nothynge abasshed, take 10corage in you,10
for by the ayde of our lorde Iesu chryst, and by the and long* to
forse of myne armes and good sword, if ther be eny castle,
man within the castell that wyll resyste agaynste vs, I
20 assure you I shall sone delyuerirhym. Anone ye shall
se what I can do / I neuer saw in all my lyfe so fayre
a castell / I cannot tell yf 18 they within wyll defend vs
the entre in to the porte13; yf they wyll haue any
24 trybute of me, I shall gladly pay it, so they demaund
no thynge elles / and yf I se14 they wyll demaunde eny He promises to
thynge elles,15 I shall shewe them how my sword can tifa^ho'wiuothe
cut16 / for I had 17iather18 dye then in any prynces hiTenVrancef Ur
28 courte it shulde be layde to my reproche19 that for eny
man I shulde recule20 backe one fote, for fere or dought
of9 deth / for I wyll neuer be taken alyue, therby to
dye in pryson ' / ' syr/ quod the patron, ' your forse
1-1 the yron so sore. 2 needes. 8 must. * lament.
6-5 omitted. 6 therefore. T which. 8 are.
9 any. 10-10 good courage and ioy. 11 you from.
12 whether. 13 or not. 14 that. 16 of mee.
16 answeare it 17 Fol. lxxxix. back, col. 2. 18 to.
19 and shame. 20 retire.
B B 2
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372
BOON OF BUKDEUX.
[G
a. cix.
The pilot replies
that human
prowess is of no
avail,
and tells him of
the fatal rock.
Huon is Ailed
with grief, and
weeps piteously.
He prays to God
to receive his soul
into paradise,
and to save his
wife and cliild.
His ship enters
the port about the
rocks,
and breaks many
rotten vessels
fixed to the
Adamant stone,
as she run* in
I them.
and great prowes can nothynge profyghte1 you / for yf
ye2 were as strong & as great as euer was Sampson / it
shuld no thyng awauntage you ; I shall shewe you the
cause wye / the castell that ye se yonder before you is 4
the most fayrest and strow[g]este castell of 3 the worlde /
it is set and compassed4 a bought with a rocke of
Adamantis stones / the whiche naturally drawethe5 to6
it all maner of Iron / as ye maye well se by our shyppe 8
that gothe so faste with out any sayle : the Adamant
drawethe5 it by cause of the ancres and nayles that be
in our shyppe / the woode that semethe to be a forest
ar the mastes of suche shyppes as hath there aryued,7 12
drawne thether by the Adamant'
IT When Huon vnderstode the patron, he was8
sorowfull, and no maruayle / then peteously he com-
playned for his wyfe &9 his child / for he saw wel10 he 1G
coud not scape the deth, nor neuer depart11 thens. then
he wepte peteously, and sayd, 12 ' a, very god,12 who in
this worlde haste fourmyd me / I require thy graso /
that this13 pouer synner that I am, enclyned to all 20
myssefortunes, that it maye please the to reseyue my
sowie into paradyse ; as for my lyfe14 none accounte
therof. But I praye the, good lorde, to saue my wyfe
and chylde, whome I haue lefte in daunger of deth, or 24
elles 16wylayne pryson.'15 And with thos wordes the
shyp entered in to the porte with such a force & pusaunce
that it ran 16 In amonge the other shyppes, so that yf
the shype had not ben stronge, and y* other shyppes 28
rotten, Huons shype had bene broken all to peses / 9 it
ranne vnder the water .iii. or .iiii. of the other old
8hippes / 17 when Huon sawe that hys shyppe was not
1 auaile. 2 we. 3 in all. * round.
6 doth draw. 6 vnto. 7 and are. 8 right. 9 for.
10 that. 11 from. 12~1J» ah, good Lord. 13 thus.
14 I make. 16~ 16 in shameful! imprisonment.
10 Fol. Ixxxx. col. 1.
17 17 jind was not broken, thanked be almightie God.
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Google
Ca. Cix.] HOW SIR ARNOLD 18 8ENT TO SURVEY THE LAND. 373
broken he thanked god.17 Than he loked into the
hauen, and sawe so many shyppes that he had1 maruayle
therof / and he was sore2 abasshed in that he sawe No man or
woman is visible.
4 nother man 3 nor3 woman 4sterynge abrode. Also he
5regardyd6 the castell, the which was so fay re and riche
that there was none suche in6 the worlde. Then he
thought to sende thether one of his companye7 to knowe
8 what people were with in the castell / he sawe well8
there was no waye to enter / but by a a strayte waye of The appro** to
„„„ , , ' , J J thecastleisby
C.C.C. and .lxxx. greses of heyght : ye way was so three hundred
and eighty steep
strayte9 that no man but one at ones coude mouute vp narrow step*.
12 the grees,10 he had great maruayle11 when he sawe no
man comynge fro the castel. Then he called one of his
knyghtes, and sayde, ' Syr Arnolde, I wyll12 that ye go Huon bids sir
vp to this castell to see what people be within,13 other14 climb up to the '
16 sarasyns or paynymes; knowe who is lorde there,15 and ^rd^iat"1"*
saye ho we 8 I greatly desyre to be aqueynted withe pe°pIe Uve <w"
hym ; yf ye can do so moch that I myght16 be aqueynted
withe hym : then I & my men wyll mount vp to gether
20 tyll17 some good aduenture fall : for I haue hope in
18god yet 18 we 8haii skape this daunger.' ' Syr/ quod
Arnolde, ' I shall do 19your pleasure'19 / then he departed, sir Arnold
and went fro one shyppe to another tyll17 he came to the »nd mount* up
the steps.
24 londe / 20 then he went to the rocke and founde the grees 21
and mounted vp. But or22 he came to the castell gate
he rested hymselfe .iii. tymes,20 when he came to the
gate he rested hym he was so wery: and beheld the The gate of the
28 gate, the ^whiche semyd to24 hym meruelusly fayre;25 marvellously lair,
then he began to crye and calle to the entent that some He calls out for a
man to speak
man shuld come20 to speke with hym ; 20 when he saw with,
1 great. 2 dismayed and. 8~3 omitted. * nor Child.
*— 6 looked about him and beheld. • throughout all.
7 for. 8 that. 9 and narrow. 10 degraees.
11 & was sore troubled in mind. 12 and command.
13 it. 14 either. 16 of. 16 maye. 17 vntill
is—is 0UP ]ord that 19-19 as you haue commaunded me.
20 and. 21 degrees. • 23 before. 23 Pol. Ixxxx. col. 2.
24 vnto. 26 and rich.
Digitized by
374
but no one replies
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cix.
for neither man
nor woman la
within.
On the right of
the hall door he
pees a serpent
higher tlmn a
horse, with eyea
gleaming like
torches.
The noise of Sir
Arnold's shouting
rouses the
serpent ;
it approaches the
gate.
The knight li
filled with alarm,
and hurries back
to the ship.
He tells Huon of
the horrible
serpent.
that none dyd speke, he stode & barkened yf any
parson were comynge to open the gate; but none
apered / Uhen he knockyd and called a gayn, & sayd,
' porter that art within, com and open the gate, that2 4
cursed be thou of god.' this Arnolde had a good
occupacion to crye3 and call, for within was nother
maw nor4 woman5 that wold open the gate / when he
saw that he was nye °gruged for* dyspleasure / & loked 8
downe vnder the gate to knowe yf he myght se7 other
man or woman to speke to8 / then he •loked. on the
ryght hand of the hal dore,9 and there he saw an
orryble serpent / the whiche kept the castell and 12
palays / it was a marueylous great serpent / heyer then
any hors, his eyen lyke .ii. torches brynnyng10 / when
Arnolde saw hym he was11 sorowful and sore dys-
pleasyde, and when the serpent harde y° knockyng 16
and12 noyse at the gate, brayenge & cryenge, he came
13 to the gate warde18 / 1 when Arnold saw the serpent14
aprochyng to the gate, he fled a way in so great hast
that he had4 nere hand 15 fallen15 downe the steyres : 20
he rested not tyl16 he come to ye shyp wher17 Huon was,
& sayde, *syr, I haue bene aboue at the gate of the
castell, and cried and knocked therat more then the
space of an owre : but there was nother man nor4 24
woman5 tliat dyd apere, & when I saw that I leyde me
downe to loke vnder the gate, to know yf I myght se
other man or woman to speke vnto / but I coud neuer
se eny creature / but a great and a orryble serpent, 28
hygher then a great hors, with eyen redder then fyer,
with maruelous great talons and tayle / there was neuer
man saw a fowler fygure of a best' 18 'alas/ quod
1 and. 2 or elles. 8 knocke. 4 omitted.
6 nor Child. 6 angry with. 7 espie. 8 vnto.
*-9 turned him round about. 10 burning. 11 right
12 great. towarde the gate. 14 with great furie.
i*-ia (with verie feare) fell. 18 vntill. 17 whereas,
w Fol. lxxxx. back, col 1.
Digitized by
Ca. cix.] OF THE DANGERS THAT BESET HUON AND HIS MEN. 375
ITuon, ' no we I see well1 we be all but dede / for we
haue no thynge to ete nor drynke, wherfore we shal Huon complaint
dye for famyne and rage. But yf I maye enter in to nought to eat or
4 the castell, I shall gyue that sarpewt suche a stroke that He longs to njrht
he shall neuer more hurte enye man leuynge. Alas, with "v**1*
what haue I sayde, my hardynesse nor2 prowes 1nor a
wauntynge1 can not helpe me / for I se well that I and
8 all you rauste dye, for it is impossible for vs to departe8
hews.' Than the patron sayd to Huon, sore wepynge,
'syr, it behoueth vs to depart4 our wytayle : yf ye The pilot advises
J 1 , , " the men to divide
wyll sustayne the ryght & customes of the see / when such food m is
. still left them.
12 men comethe to suche a case that there is no remedye
to gette any fresshe vytayle / then it is a reason that one half should
° J # be Riven to their
the lorde and capetayne6 haue the one halfe to his parte lord and captain,
and the rest
and the other parte egally to be delyuered* amonge his equally divided
tt , i among tliem-
1G men. ' Mayster/ quod Huon, 'ye maye do your teives.
pleasure, do as ye shall thinko best.' Then the patron Huon bids him do
v ' J r as he thinks fit.
caused al theyr vytayles to be brought forth, and then
it was deuyded / the patron was a wyse man / when
20 Huon saw that, he began to wepe, he dyd eate but ly tell
at euery meale by cause his vytayle sholde endure the
lencer / howbeit all that but lytell awayled, for or7 .xv. After fifteen days
5 ' J > the men's food is
dayes were passyd / all theyr vytayles were expyred8 «w consumed,
24 excepte Huons parte of the whiche he gaue euery man »nd Huon divides
r with them his
parte, & kepte for hym selfe no more then other men own portion,
had. And as they were in this daunger they saw a
galyot9 wherin were .xxx. men, sarasyns, 1and1 theues
28 and pyraottes of the see / they came and aryuede nere a pirate ship
comes alongside
to the shyppe where as Huon was in / not knowynge or Huon-s vessel,
Jrr . . . and threatens it.
what plase they were in / when they aryued it was in a
darke nyght / they hadde10 meruayle of Huons shyppe
32 wherein they sawe great lyght /u 12 then they sayd one
to another / * it is happye for vs that we haue founde
1 omitted. 8 my, 3 from. 4 part. 5 to,
6 deuided. 7 before. 8 spent 9 galley.
10 great. 11 and. 12 Fol. lxxxx. back, col. 2.
Digitized by
376
Ht/ON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. CX.
here this fayre shyppe / it can not be but it is rych
and full of goodes : they shall not scape vs : but it
shalbe owrs, for therin ar but fewe men to defende the
shyppe.' 4
Huon joyfully
welcomes the
men In the
galley,
but they, speak-
ing in Spanish,
declare them-
selves Saracens,
and threaten
Huon and his
company with
death.
Huon bids his
companions arm
tLemselvei,
% Howe a galey withe sarasyns came and
assayled Huon, who were all slayne, and
also all Huons men ; and how Huon went
to the castel of the Adamant & slewe the 8
great serpent, and of the merueilles that he
founde there. Ca. .ex.
rHen Huon sawe the galey aryue, and
goynge to his shyppe he had great 12
in a may le what men they were / then
he alyghtyd a torche & toke it in his
ha nde, and came a borde on the shyppe,
and sayd / 'syrs of this galy, ye ar wel aryued here ; 16
*ye be welcome j1 we haue great ioy of your companye ' /
when the sarasyns hard Huon, they 1 well1 perseyuyd by
his language that he and his company were chrysten
men / then eche of them behelde other smylynge for 20
ioye / one of them turned his speche and spake good
spanysshe, and sayde to Huon / ' felowe, it is no nede
for vs to hyde what we be : al we that thou seest here
be sarasyns, and ye be chrystened / wherfore we wyl 24
haue all the rychesse that is yn your shyppe / and
besyde that, all your hedes shall be streken of and your
bodys cast into the see.* ' Paynym/ quod Huon, ' or2
thou haste our shyp at thy commaundement, fyrste 28
thou shalte bye it derely.' Then Huon cry yd to his
men that they sholde arme themselfe to defend them
fro the paynymes / 8 the which they dyd dylygently.
And Huon, who was redy armed, and by that tyme the 32
11 omitted. * ere. 8 Fol. lxxxxi. col. 1.
Digitized by
Ca. CX.] OP THE FIGHT WITH THE PIRATES.
377
Sarasyns were enteryd into the shyp. Iluon was redy and fights
. . ,11 , . 1 himwlfwith
before them with his sworde in his handes, wherwith hit wonted
boldness ,
he stroke the fyrst that he met wit/tall in such wyse
4 that his hede flew fro his shulders. Then he strake
another and claue hym to the throte / and so the
thyrde and the fourthe were shortely slayne / he layd
on so rounde a boughte hym that his enemyes were
8 afrayed to beholde hym. Then the chefe mayster of y
theues eame and rebuked his men bycause they had
sufferyd Huon to do them so moche hurte and domage /
he approchid to Huon to haue stryken hym / but Huon,
12 who was lyght and expert in dedes of armes, awoydyd
his stroke, and strake the Sarasyn with a reuerso that his He slays the
_ captain of the
hede flewe fro the body a great waye of. Then Huon ship;
cryed * Burdeaux ' / to reioyse his men and to geue them and cheers on hi*
16 corage. Also Arnolde, who had sene the serpente in
the castell, dyd marueylles, & bet downe his enemyes,
wherof Huon 1toke great pleasure.1 And there was a
great myghty Sarasyn / who cam behi[n]d this knyght
20 Arnold as he fought with a nother Sarasyn, and he Bat Arnold, the
i - - knight who had
gaue Arnolde with an axe such a great stroke that he seen the serpent
claue his hede to the tethe / whereof Huon was ryght killed,
sorowfull, and sayd he had rather dye then the deth of ^ngeanwopon*
24 Arnolde shulde not be reuenged. Then he aprochyd2 hUmurderw'*
to the same paynyme and lyfte8 vp is sword with
bothe his handes, 4 and 4 he stroke the sarasyn on the
shulder that y* sworde entered in to the breste. And
28 the patron of Huons shyppe vnarmyd came to8 the
batayle with a great staffe in his handes, wherwith he
layd on y* sarasyns in suche wyse that suche as he
stroke *ne 7 dyd6 after no sorgyon. Then a Sarasyn
32 aduised hym, and came and gaue the patron suche The captain of
Huon'i ship is
a stroke with a sword on the hede that his hede likewise skin.
*— 1 had great ioy. * neere vnto. 8 lifting.
*~4 omitted. 6 into. e-6 needed.
t Fol. Uxxxi. col. 2.
Digitized by
Google
378
HUON OP BURDKUX.
[Ca. CX.
At length Hoon
has only four
men led alive
with him, while
seven Saracens
are still unin-
jured.
Nevertheless, all
the Saracen* are
at length slain,
and Huon's
knights seise the
victuals in their
ship.
For seven months
they live upon
them,
and then food
fails
Huon tells his
companions that
death alone lies
before them all.
was clouen to the brayne, wherwith Huon was ryghte
sorowfulL1 But it was not long or2 he reuengyd his
dethe / for he strake the sarasyne suche a stroke that
he claue hym to the brest / 3 when the patrons seruauwtes 4
sa we4 theyr mayster8 slayne, they6 made great sorowe /
and disarmyd as they were, they came7 to the batayle
with great staues in theyr handys / and fought with
them fersly. But y° sarasyns who were* armyd had 8
anone slayne them all, wherof Huon was sory,8 for he
had then with hym lefte a lyue no mo but .iiiL men of
defence. And the Sarasyns, who in y* begynnynge
were .xxx., were all slayne excepte .vil parsones / they9 12
feryd Huon / for they saw wel none coude endure
agaynste his strokys / then they fled out of Huons shyp
and enteryd in to theyr owne galey. But Huon and
his .iii. knyghtes that were with hym folowed them 16
and10 slew them all, and caste them into the see. Then
Huon and the .iii knyghtes that were wM hym toke
all ye flesshe / bread / and wyne that was in the galey
and bare it into theyr shyp, wherby they leuyd more 20
then .vii. monethes. And then when theyr vytales
began to fayle them11 they were13 sorowful / they had
no vitayle to leue by longe, and yet they dyd ete but
lytell; so they became13 pale & lene for14 famyne / 24
peteously Huon complayned and sayd / 'O ye, my
16 ryghte 16 dere and trewe frendis, who for my loue haue
left your londes, your wyues, and chyldren. Now I
perseyue ye must nedys dey for the rage of famyne : 28
alas,18 catyue that I am, I shal not long lyue after you : '
great petye it was to here the complayntes that 17 Huon
made, who sawe 16 his men dye before bis face / and also
1 and sore displeased. 2 before. 8 and. 4 that
6 was. 8 all. 7 and entred into.
8 right sorrowfull and angry. 9 greatly.
10 so fast that they. u then. " right. 13 beganne to be.
14 through. i£— M omuted. 18 poor.
17 Fol. Ixxxxi. back, col. 1.
Digitized by
Ca. CX.] HOW HUON 8URVIVE8 ALL HI8 COMPANY.
379
lie saw15 that he must folowe the same daunce. Then
he sayde, ' a, lady Esclaramonde, I shall neuer see you He praye to God
to protect hie
more ; I praye our lord god that he wyll comforte you wife.
4 in all your affayres / as for me,1 it is impossyble to lyue
.iiil dayes longer. ' After that he hade made this
petyous2 complaynte he behelde his8 .iii. knyghtes, who The fourknighta
die of hunger.
renderyd vp theyr sowles and dyed for4 hunger. The
8 petefull complayntes then that5 he made was petye to
here / he hade no hope to be aydyd by any man
mortall,6 wherfore he knewe suerly7 he coude not lyue
8 past .iiii.8 dayes lenger. Then all wepynge he wente fro
12 his knyghtes that lay9 dede and wente to the bourd of Huon looks out in
Tain for a passing
his ehyp and lokyd in to y* see yf he coude10 spye any vessel,
maner of shyp comynge thether. For he thoughte that
yf any shyp came thether of the sarasins, he wolde
16 haue some vytales or elles to dye in the quarel / thus
Huon was there 11 all 11 alone without12 company e.13
II When Huon saw that no maner of shyp was
comynge thether, he was14 sorowfulL Then he turned He romys the
. , i iii • in eaetleouthe rock
20 nym and regardyd the castell, the which semyd toia again,
hym maruaylously fayre and great, and sayd / ' a, good
lorde, how cane it be that this fayre and rych castell
shuld be voyde without man or woman ; I haue great
24 maruayle of that syr Arnolde shewyd me / for he
shewyde me that within the castell was n other man nor
woman, and howe that there shulde be a great serpente.
I cannot tell yf 16 it be trewe or not, and17 whether he
28 spake it for fere / but by the grace of god, thoughe I *nd weoiTet to
shulde18 dye in the quarell, I wyll knowe the trouth / although he may
die in the
for I were as good to dye by the19 serpent as to dye for endeavour,
hunger* / then he 20toke his sworde and dyd21 on his
1 poore soule. 8 pitifull. 8 the. 4 through.
6 that then. 0 mortall man. 7 that 8—8 aboue twoo.
9 there. 10 might. omitted. 12 any.
13 sore weeping and almost dead through famine. 14 right
16 vnto. 18 whether. 17 or. 18 shall.
*» horrible. 80 Fol. Ixxxxi. back, col. 2. » put
380 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. ex.
helme, & toke his shelde, and dyd so moche withe goynge
He mount* the fro shyp to shyp tyll1 he came to the2 londe. And
widrenchM the then with moche payne he mounted vp the decrees / and
fkii castle. gQ camo to 3ye gate of 8 ye castell / 4 then he sate downe 4
He admire the and rested hym / & heheld the fayre castel ; he thought
line (fold of which ho neuer saw no5 suche before, for the walles and
toures were of fyne alabaster clere shynyng, and the
towres rychely coueryd with fyne golde of Arabe ; 8
when the sun cast his rayes8 ther on7 it caste so great8
Bat on examining lyght that it gaue lyght8 far of / 4 when he had longe
the curiously- "
wrought Rtte, behelde it9 he saw the gate, the whiche was fayre and
■cription Mying rych, that great beaute it was to behold it : for the .ii. 12
is only to be leuys of the gate were coueryd with fyne gold inter-
wort^'of'aii medelyd with other rych oueragis. And on his ryght
knights, ^e 8aw \yj the gate a wyndowe, and ouer the same
there was wryten in letters of golde, saynge : Let any 16
man be ware how he entereth in to this castel, without
he be the worthyest knyght of all other, or elles it were
for the foly to assaye it. For he shall fynde there such
serpent can OTer* . /» i • * * i i * i « «/\
throw all of smau aduenture / 10 yf his body were harder than a stethy of 20
#»w«* yefc ^0 ^ ^ede an(j joste without he be
of that pusaunce to resyste agaynste the great serpente,
& vanquesshe hym / many men haue assayed that
but on the right neuer coude spede / & he that wyll enter in to the 24
side of the gate
hangs a purse castell beholde a ly tell purse that hangeth on the ryght
within i^7 hand of the gate, where he shall fynde ye keye for to
open the gate / when Huon had red the writynge, he
Huon trusts in began sore to muse in hym selfe, and said, 11 ' very god,11 28
God to aid him. g^ thou haste sauyd me from so many parelles in tyme
paste, I humbly requyre the at this tyme to ayde12 me ;
and to geue me y* grace that I maye vanquesshe this
orryble serpent & brynge hym to the deth / 18 for I had 32
1 vntill. 8 gate of the. *-« omitted. 4 and.
6 none. 6 and apbeares. 7 thereuppon.
8 a. 9 at his pleasure. 10 as. u—n good Lord.
w and succour. 18 Fol. Ixxxxii. col. 1.
Digitized by
Ca. cxi.J how nuoN meets the serpent.
381
rather dye in fyghtyngo lyke a valyaunte knyght /
then to dye for famyne.' Then Huon rose vp and went He finds the key,
OaI 11 1 11 ai,<* P**86*
to the purse, & toke out the keye and opened the gate through the gate.
4 and enteryd, and closyd the gate agayne after hym.
% How Huon of Burdeux fought with the
orryble serpent, and slew hym, within the
castell of the Adamant. Ca. .cxi.
Hen Huon was enterid into the castell,
he sawe before the hall dore the The hon-ibie
,i serpent Is before
orrible serpent, who was resyn vp : the door of the
his skyn was of dyuers colours, and it haU'
12 >^^^^"*r was go harde that no Iron nor Steele
coude enter in to it / when Huon saw the best so great Huon doUi*s
he doughtyd hymselfe, and callyd vpon Iesu Chryst redrtitT °
requirynge hym to haue petye vpon hym & to geue hym
16 that1 grace to sle that dredefull best / whew the beest
sawe Huon, he had great marueyle / for ho had bene
there a longe space that neuer ma;* came there /
he strechyd2 out his clawes and cast his tayle round The serpent
advance* towards
20 abought hym, and came hastely agaynst Huon / who, him,
when he sawe the beest aproche nere to hym, he made
the sygne of ye crosse on8 his forhede, recommaundynge
hymselfe to god ; with his sworde in his hande and his and Huon
24 sheld before hym and he fersly marchyd. towardes the him?™* ° m**
serpent / he was so hydeous and ferfull to behold that
the beest semyd rather an enemy e of hel then any other
beest / his body was marueylous great, with an vgelye
28 hede with .ii. eyen bygger then .ii. basyns ful of
brynnyng4 fyre / when he cam nere to6 Huon he lyfte
vp one of his pawes thinkynge to haue drawew downe
Huon to the erth / he strake on3 Huows shyld by6 The bea.«t pniis
' hi* »MeM fn.in
32 such force that he pullyd it fro his sholder / lether nor hi* shoulder,
1 the. 2 Fol. lxxxxii. col. 2. 3 vppon. 4 burning.
6 vnto. 8 with.
Digitized by
Google
382 huon op bdrdeux. [Ca. cxi.
buckyll coude not resyst it / & then with his teth &
nayles he tare the shylde all to peses / Huon, -who was
lyger and light, lept by the syde of the serpent and
gaue hym a great stroke with hys sworde on1 the ere, i
and hi. tword that he thought to haue clouen asondcr his hede. But
cuinot hurt It.
he coude do it no more hurte then yf he had strekew
on1 a stethy / so that his sword reboundyd agayne /
wherof Huon was2 sorowfull, and sayd / ' a, good lord, 8
now I se well that my dayes ar at an end : A,8 lady
Esclaramonde, I praye our lord god to saue you & my
dough ter Clary et / for this daye ye shall lese me.'
Then he auawsyd hym to the serpent, and gaue hym a 12
great stroke on1 the haunche be hynde / & yf he dyd
but lytell with his fyret stroke he dyd lesse hurt with
that stroke / for he coude in no wyse cut through ye
serpewtis skyn: wherfore he was in great fere; and 16
4 the serpent, when he felte hymselfe stryken, cast his
tayle rounde abonght Huon by6 suche force that Huon*
ouerthrew7 to ye erthe and8 quyckely releuyd agayne.
Haon mm a spear Then he saw by the gate a great square spere with 20
broSld6head,With * a sharpe, brode hede / 9 then he put vp his sworde
both hand*. and toke the spere in bo the his handy s, and came10
agaynste y* serpent, who came and encounteryd hym
withe open mouthe to haue swalowed Huon / but Huon, 24
who was stronge and lyght, toke the spere and layde it
Th« Mrpent on his arme, & saw the serpent with his mouth open /
toatuck l?aon, he strake the spere into the mouth of the serpent
thw^the^ptar so depe that with the hede of ye spere he cut his hart 28
and^hwH^ a sonder / when the serpente felte hymselfe hurte to the
dethe, he caste out a terryble crye, so that all the
palays11 sowned,9 30 that the noyse myght be harde a
leage of. Thus the orryble serpente was slayne / when 32
Huon sawe that he was dede, he knelyd downe & lyfte
1 vppon. 2 right. 8 faire. 4 Fol. Ixxxxii. bnck, col. 1.
6 with. 6 he. 7 Huon. 8 hee. 9 and.
10 with all his force and strength. 11 place.
heart.
Digitized by
Ca. cxi.] HOW HUON ENTERS the beautiful castle.
383
vp his handys to the heuen, thankynge our lorde god when the serpent
was slain, Huon
of1 his grace. Then he rose and wente to the serpent, kneels down and
and regardyd2 hym, for he was hedyous and ferfull to His grace.
4 beholde / he was .xviii. fote lowge ; when Huon had
well regardyd2 hym he went and sate downe to rest
hym 3 by the hall dore3 / for he was so wery and faynt Huon u feint
with the blud that he had lost, and with swete, that he WUh hunger*
8 had moche payne to draw his breth / the whiche was
no maruayle, for he had nother eten nor dronken of all
that daye / when he had well restyd hym then he rose and goes through
the castle in
vp desyrynge4 to know whether any man or woman search of man or
12 were within y* castell or not, to speke vnto them / he wom*n*
enteryd into the hall, the whiche he marueylously
regardyd : it was so fayre and ryche to beholde that
there is no clarke in the worlde can dyscryue the beaute
16 & 5rychesse therof ; the ryche chambers that were on xhehaiiis
constructed of
the syde of the hall were al composyd and made precious metal
of whyght marbyll polysshed / the postes were coueryd *n ,t<me""
'with fyne golde / at the ende of the hall there was a
20 chameney, wherof the two pillers that susteynyd the
man tell tree were of fyne Iaspar / and the mantell was
of a ryche Calsedony / and the Lyntell was made of
fyne Emeradis traylyd with a wyng of fyne golde / and
24 the Grapys of fine Saphers. This chemeny was so ryche
that none such coude be founde. And all the pyllers
in the hall were of 6a6 red Calsedony /7the pament8
was of fyne Ambre.
28 1T when Huon had well aduysyd2 this hall, he inscriptions
, , , . . . over the dnors of
lokyd towardeys the chaumbers, and ouer the dorys of the chambers
euery chaumber was written in letters of gold, the iSnen whwn*0
which shewyd where the keyes were of euery chambre. Tactwnay ie y<> °f
32 Huon, who coude well rede the letters / and vnderstonde fou"d*
it / he founde a purse wherin were the keyes of euery
1 for. 8 behelde. 3-3 before to rest him.
4 as desirous. 6 Fol. Ixxxxii. back, col. 2. 6~6 omitted,
7 and. 8 pauement.
Digitized by
Google
384 HUON OP durdeux. [Ca. cxL
chambre, all of fyne gold ; he toke one of the keyes
He^un one of and opened one of the chambres1 / and enteryd into
and wooden at 2^2 Then he lokyd all aboughte the chambre / and
iU rich furniture.
sawe it garnysshed and hangyd with the mo9te rycheste 4
clothes that euer were sene / the benches & bedstedes
were all of whyght Iuory, so rychely entraylyd &
wrought and garnysshed with presyons stonys / that no
mannes tonge coude dyscryue the beaute and ryehesse 8
therof / all was made by enchauntement This palays
was3 great and large, and well garnysshyd with
chambres. 1T When Huon had well regardyd4 this
chambre he was5 abasshed that he coude nother se man 12
nor woman. Then he lokid ouer 6 the dore of another
chambre,6 where there was also 7 wry ten in letters of
He opens the golde8 as there9 was10 ouer the fyrst dore. Then Huon
door of another 1,1 1 1 1 , .
chamber, toke the key and openyd the11 dore, and enteryd in to 16
and finds *reat that chambre12 / and there he founde great quantyte of
quantity of
jeweii and gold, gold & rychesse and13 iouelles, with14 precyous stones,
that great beaute it was15 to beholde / * a, good lord/ quod
Huon, ' I wolde16 haue byleuyd that in all the world 20
there had 17 not 17 bene so moch ryches as I se here'18 /
a third chamber then anone he sawe a nother chambre, and toke the
is still more
ricuijr equipped, key & enteryd,19 & for all the ryches that he 20 had sene 20
before, there he found moch more / there were presses 24
made of fyne Iuory21 rychely wrought & entayled, so
that there was no beast nor byrd but there it was22
and in it are wrought : in the whiche presses were gownes and robes
presses filled with ° ' r °
gowns of line of 23 fyne golde, and23 ryche mantelles furryd with 28
gold and rich
mantles of sable, sabyls, and all other thynges2* apartaynynge to the aparel
of mankynde / and the beddys so rychly coueryd that
1 doorea. 2-2 the chamber. 3 exceeding.
* beheld. 5 greatly. 8-6 another chamber doore.
7 Fol. Ixxxxiii. col. 1. 8 according. 9 it. 10 written.
11 another. 12 also. 13 rich. 14 other most.
15 for. 16 nener. 17-17 omitted.
18 present before me. 19 therin. 20-20 g^ve. 21 very,
28 most cunningly. 23 most. 24 the which were.
Digitized by
Ca. CXi.] OP THE FAIRNESS OP THE GARDEN. 385
ifc 1coude not1 be dyscryuyd2 / thys chambre was so
fayre and rych that Huon coude not8 be satysfyed
vrith regardyng4 therof / ther were wyndows5 rychely Glass windows
from it open upon
4 glasyd openynge vpon a gardeyne side, the whicne0 * garden ailed
was so fayre and so well garnysshyd with flowres7 with fRir flowe™»
swete 8mellynge, and8 al maner of trees chargyd with and trees,
frewtis so good & so delysyous to ete / 9 so 9 that the and fruits.
8 smelle of them wold haue satysfyed a mannes apetyte.
Huon, who sawe this fayre gardyn, desyred greatly to
enter into it to gather some of the10 frute / he lokyd
ouer the dore and founde the 11 key, and went to the
12 purse and toke the key, and11 openyd the dore, and
enteryd12 into ye gardeyne and gatheryd of the frute at Huon enters the
his pleasure, & dyd ete therof, for he had18 great the fruit.
apetyte14 to ete / he thought the frute maruaylous
16 good, yf I wolde shew or dyscryue the beaute of this The heauty of the
spot cannot be
gardayn, 16 it shuld16 be ouer long to resyte, there wer so described,
many sondry frutys so fayre and so swete of smellyng,
that a syke man of any infyrmyte shuld16 sone
20 17recouer17 helth. Also there were herbys and flowres so
swete18 that all the gardayne semyd19 full of balme /
when Huon had bene there a good space and had well
eten of the frute at his pleasure / he returnyd in to the Huon returns to
the chamber.
24 chambre that he came fro, and then*0 vnarmyd bym
and dyd51 of all his clothes, & toke out of ye presse and takes from
a fyne shyrte and dobelet / hosyd and shone / gowne / noVc^Les!0"*
cote and cappe / such as he wold chose / for there was
28 no man to saye hym naye / when he was thus newly
areyed,22 there coude not be founde a more goodlyer
man / acordynge as the cronycle saythe / I byleue he
11 was impossible to. 2 by anie mortall man.
8 neuer. 4 beholding and viewing. 6 very. 6 garden.
7 most precious. 8 of. 9-9 omitted. 10 that
u— 11 purse with the key therin, and then he. 12 went
18 a. 14 desire. 15 Fol. lxxxxiii. col. 2. 10 would.
IT— n haue recouered his. 18 and delightrvll. M to be.
80 he. 21 putte. 28 arriued.
CHARL. BOM. VIII. 0 0
Digitized by
386
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxL
was borne by the fayrey / as then there coude not be
founde so goodly a man leuynge / when he was thus
apareylyd he went fro chambre to chambre / alwayes
harkenenge yf 1 he myght2 here the woyse other of man 4
But h« seeks in or woman / but as long as he was8 there he coud here
humaTwnjj. no thynge, wherof he was 4sory4; there he was5 viii.
dayes without etynge of any thynge sauing of ye frutis
of the gardayne / wherby ho waxed febyll and faynt, 8
Eight days he the which was no meruayle, for he had bene there .viii.
tarries in the J 9
castie, eating of dayes without etynge other brede or flesshe / he was so
the fruits alone, * o /
and he grows febyll that he thought he coude not longe endure there
feeble and faint. °
without dethe. Then he prayed • our lorde god to 12
comforte7 hym out of that daunger; 8petyoualy he
He prays to God complaynyd for his wyfe and chylde, saynge : 'A, my
to have mercy on . . ' " " ,
his wife and dere wyfe, god9 socoure you in all your afFayres / for ye
shall neuer haue10 socoure11 of me15 / for I tary but for 16
the oure of 18 dethe, the whyche is14 nere15 aprochynge
to me / for I am so sore16 beten with famyne that
I haue moche 17payne to sustayne myselfe.' Thus Huon
was .viii. dayes in the castell of the Adamant / euery 20
day etynge of the frutys of the gardayne / and at
nyght he lay euer in the best bed in the chambre.
No we let vs leue spekynge of hym, and let vs retourne18
to the duchesse Esclaramonde, who was besegyd within 24
y* citye of Burdeaux, where as she was in great
dyspleasure, and not without a cause / for she sufferyd
moche payne and trobylL
1 whether. * coud. 8 continued.
4-4 right sorowfull. 6 continued. 6 vnto.
7 and strengthen. 8 most. 9 ayde and. 10 any.
u and ayde. 12 more. 13 my. M nowe.
u at hand. 16 and grieuously.
" Fol. Uxxxiii. back, col. 1. 18 turne.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxii.] of esclaramondb's grief.
387
How after that Huon was departyd fro
Burdeaux the Emperour made dyuers
assaultys to the cety / but he coude not
4t wyn yt for the defence of the good cheualry
that was in1 yt / and of the busshement2
that was layd by the coiwsell of duke
Sauary, wherby the citye was taken &
8 wonne. Ca. .cxii.
She greatly complaynid and sayd : ' a, my ryght dere
lord, your departynge ought greatly to greue me. I
16 fere ye shall not come in tyme to socour and to bryng
me out of 3 daunger that I am in / for it is inpossible
for vs long to endure agaynst this emperour. Alas I I
haue more sorowe for my doughter then for my selfe :
20 and I am sorowful for my lordis and knyghtis who for
the loue of you and me are in parell of theyr lyues. It she regret* that
the ever left
had bene better for vs to haue taryed 4 sty 11 in Babylon Babylon,
then to come hether to suffer all this tourmentis /
24 paynes / and pouertyes / and at laste paynfull dethe ' /
with sayenge of these wordes y° duches she6 fell in a
traunce amonge her lordys. Then Gerames releuyd her ceramet
endeavour! to
and sayd / ' lady,5 dyscomforte you nothynge,* but take console her.
28 good corage and comforte your men, who hathe great
desyre to defende this citye for the sauegarde of their
owne bodyes and lyues / thus to make sorow ye can
wyn no thynge therby, but lese more to more : haue
32 no dought that Huon your husbonde wyll leue you at
1 with in. * ambuahment 3 the.
4 Fol. lxxxxiii. back, col. 2. * omitted, 6 Dot
C C 2
12
e haue harde before' howe duke Huon
departyd from his citye of Burdeux,
where as he lefte the duches his wyfe / Eaciaramonde
who was in great displeasure when she grieved by her
sawe the departynge of her husbond. departore*
Digitized by
388
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxii.
On hearing of
Huon's setting
out for luceour,
the Emperor
addresses his
barons, in
council
assembled;
he does not
know whither
Huon has gone.
Aithongh
Charlemagne is
dead, and Lewis,
who ik young,
reigns in his
stead,
Huon cannot
hope for aid from
that quarter.
It Is clear, says
the Emperor, that
the knight has
gone on a long
Journey for
succour, and that
It is their part
to assail and
take the city
before his return.
All his host is of
his opinion.
this poynte. he is gone to your brother for socoure /
he wyll not long tary / and he wyll brynge you suche
socoure that ye emperour nor the Almayns shall haue
no leysour to graunt hym the vyctory.' Thus Gerames 4
comfortyd the duches, who was glade1 to here Gerames.
Thus as they deuysed to gether, the Einperoure, who
was aduerteysyd of Huons departyng and howe he was
gone for socoure / he assembelyd his counseyle in to 8
his tent, and there he shewyd and declaryd the great
losses that he had sufferyd as wel of the dethe of his
nepheus as of other of his frendis and kynne / and the
great domage that by Huon he had sufferyd, and sayde / 12
1 syrs, all this ye knowe well / his aquayntaunce hathe
cost vs derely. Ye haue all harde how he is departyd
to seke for socours / but I can not tell to what parte he
is gone. As for the realme of fraunce, I know well he 16
shall haue no socoure there / for as it hathe bene
shewyd me of late / that the ryght noble and vyctory-
ous prynce Charlemayne is dede / who louyd Huon but
lytell by cause of his sone Chariot whome Huon slewe / 20
and Charlemayne hathe lefte be 2hynde hym but one
sone namyd Lowis, who is but of a yonge age:8 I
beleue yf he were of full age that he wolde rather come
to socour me then Huon, who slewe Charlote his bro- 24
ther / therfore it canne be none other wyse but that he
is gone in to some far countre for socours ; therefore I
thynke it best that in the mene tyme, or4 he retourne /
that on all sides let vs contynually assayle the citye / 28
and let euery man do theyr payne to be reuengyd for
the dethe of theyr frendys whiche are5 slayne by them
within the citye.' 1T when the lordis harde the emper-
oure, all with one woyse answeryd and sayd, ' Syr, the 32
reason that6 ye haue shewyd vnto vs is to be kepte and
done / and we shall go arnie vs and make vs redy, to
1 for. 8 Fol. lxxxxiiii. col. 1. 8 and. * ere.
6 heere. 0 which.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. CxiL] OP THE NEW ASSAULT ON BORDEAUX. 389
the entente to come to your entencyon, the whiche is1
reasonable.' Then they sownyd theyr homes and a fierce assault
upon Bordeaux is
busyns, and euery man2 armyd nym3 / and came with forthwith
< prepared.
4 4standarde4 dysplayed to assayle the citye, and they but the defenders
of the city make
that were within as well as they coude they defendyd a fierce resistance,
the citye : they6 without reryd vp ladders agaynste the
wallys 6 by great6 strengths / but they6 withe in dyd
8 bette them downe into the dykis, and then they cast
vpon them hote lede and boylynge oyle / and quycke
Lyme / and great stonis, & fagottis brynnynge,7 so
that they that8 were downe in the dykes had no powre9
12 to releue10 agayne; but there myserably dyed vnder the
ladders. There was on bothe partyes11 great shotynge
with crosebowes and slyngynge of stonys, so thycke
that it semyd12 snowe fleynge in the ayre / marueyle it
16 was to regarde18 the olde Gerames / how he exortyd his Oeramesand
Esclaramonde
company to do wel / and also the duches Esclaramonde, exhort Huon's
with her doughter in her armes, cryeng to1* her men and lustily. ^
15sayd, ' ye, my dere lordys and knyghtys, fyght lustely :
20 put18 to your payne9 to defend your bodyes and your
lyues / your wyues and17 chyldren / to the entente that
the Almayns make not theyr 18auaunte of the18 wynn-
ynge of this19 noble citye by ^assaulte / the whyche is
24 so goodly and ryche / for, syrs, I knowe well ye shall
not 21 be in this payne21 no longe season / for duke Huon,
your ryghtfull lorde, shall22 shortely23 sucoure vs all.'
Then24 the noble barons, knyghtis, and burgesses /
28 herynge the26 comforte of the noble26 lady the duches Very reliant is
their defence,
Esclaramonde, with a maruaylous27 corage28 they came to
1 verie good and. 2 speedily. 8 selfe.
4—4 Ensigne displayde. 6 which were. 6—6 with mighte.
T burning. 8 which. 9 for. 10 themselues.
11 exceeding. 18 like vnto. 13 beholde. 14 vnto.
u Fol. lxxxxiiii. col. 2. 16 but w your,
is— 18 bragges and vauntes of theyr. 19 most. 20 theyr.
fl— 21 abide this trouble for. 22 will. 23 ayde and.
24 all. 25 exceeding great 26 and vertuous.
27 great. 28 and valour.
Digitized by
330
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxii.
•ndtteGienntM the1 defences / and dyd2 bo valyauntly that theyr
retire. enemyes were fayne3 to recule4 backe with great losse
& damage / wherof the emperour and his lordys were
ryghte sorowfull / and they within the citye ryght 4
ioyous* of thea victory tliat god had geuen them that
day. Then euery man 7 drew to theyr7 logyng and
made great ioy / and the emperoure and his men with-
drew8 in great dysp[l]easure for theyr9 losse. IT when 8
ye emperour was vnarmyd, and had refresshed hymself,10
The Emperor Then* he sayd to his lordis / ' syrs, we haue ben a longe
give him advice season before this citye and haue had11 many losses :
•hau eon\"nvIehthe therfore, syrs, I requyre you to counseyle me what is 12
siege louger. to do / this citye, is stronge & wel f urnysshed with
knyghtis and men to defende it / by vs it wyl neuer be
wone, without vytaylis fayle them / but I thiwke they
haue but small store of vytayle : therfore I desyre you 16
to shewe me your aduyses whether we shall departe fro
this citye without more doynge, or elles abyde here vpon
niche fortune as god wyll send vs ' / when y* emperour
The Emperor's had sayd as moch as12 pleasyd him,13 then the duke 20
brother, duke
sevtry, urges the Sauary, his brother, rose vp & said / ' syr, me thynke yf
persist in their I may be byleuyd, 14 that this citye can not long endure :
and y* cause why I shall shew you / ye know well that
Huon theyr lorde is gone to seke for socours / on the 24
other syde, they with in the citye haue but fewe men
and but yll furnysshyd of vytayles / within the citye
there is an olde knyghte who is a valyant and a hardy
bntdeeitrw it knyght / and therfore it were profytable to study howe 28
capture Oerames. he myghte be taken, or elles slayne / this shulde greatly
auaunce your enterpryse / of the whyche ye can not
fayle yf ye wyll byleue my couwseyle, as I shal shew
you. Trewe it is this day we haue had grete losse and 32
1 theyr. 8 behaued themselves. 8 forced. 4 retyre.
6 ioy full. 6 great. 7-7 went vnto his. 8 themselues,
• his. 10 selfe. 11 sustained. « he. 13 omitted.
" Fol. Ixxxxiiii. back, col. 1.
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Google
Ca. cxii.] of the Germans' devices. 391
receyuyd great domage, wherof they within ar Ioyfull /
wherefore it were good to sende sartayne motouns and He •mwte»u a
beestys in the nyght tyme with a fewe kepars : sende Geramee to put
4 them into the medowe nere to1 the citye / and I am Se^ofLEIe'
sure2 when the olde knyght knowe therof, the whiche SSwtlw dty'e
he shall knowe by the wachmen on the toures and waU*
walles / then incontynent he wyll issue out with suche and when
8 power as he hath to take the bestes & to bryng them men tune out to
into the citye. And to the entente that they shall urge row* of
neuer retourne agayne into the citye incontynente or3 See^ambuaL
the mone 4dothe4 aryse, sende a goo[d] nombre of {Hem.** °r ,Uy
12 befes / and motons to the medowe. Then haue redy
armyd .x. thousande men, and send them to the lytell
mou?itayne, where as the galowes were6 reysyd / and
when they parseyue that they within the citye be
16 issuyd out to feche the praye / then let the .x. thou-
sande men drawe nere to the gate of the citye / to the
entent that they without shall not enter agayne, but
to theyr great losse. And yf ye wyll thus do, I put no
20 dought but that or6 it be mydnyght they shall be all
taken or slayne / and the mater may so come to pas
that7 ye shall enter into the citye at your pleasure.
IT Thus I haue shewed you as I thynke best / yf any man
24 knowe any better waye, let hym speke' / Then euery aii the Germane
. _ . _ & approve duke
mm regardyd the Emperoure and seyde, 'syr, the savary'« couneei,
counsayle that duke Sauary your brother 4hathe geuyn
you we thynke all4 that a more noble counsayle coude8
28 not be geuyn to any prynce.' when the emperoure
vnderstode the counsayle of his brother duke Sauary,
and that all his lordys dyd alowe y* same / he was
ryght Ioyfull, and sayde2 it shuld so be9 done. Then and the Emperor
givee dlreotione
32 he callyd his marshall and commaundyd that it shulde for putung it
be done10 as his brother had deuysid it before / the *
1 vnto. 8 that 8 ere. 4-* omitted. 8 is.
6 before. 7 Fol. Ixxxxiiii. back, col. 2. 8 can.
9 bee so. 10 according.
Digitized by
392
HUON OF BURDEOZ.
[Ca. cxiii
The night Is
dark, and the
men of Bordeaux
are in great
danger.
After their raeeeti
over the Germans,
Gerames called
hU men together,
and thanked God
tor their victory.
He advised
another night
attack upon the
enemy,
whiche was done1 dylygently, and sente2 ,xL* men
with .vi. hondred motons and two hondred beestes
nere to4 the citye / and6 layde theyr enbusshement of
.x. thousande men by the lytell mountayne. It was 4
darke nyght, & the mone was not rysyn / wherby they
within coude not parsayue them / the whiche turnyd
to theyr great losse and damage / for all those that
issuyd out of the citye of Burdeaux were alayn and 8
taken, as ye shall here after.6
% Of the dethe of the olde Gerames and of the
takynge of the citye of Burdeaux, and of
commonynge7 of the duches with the 12
Emperoure, & of the delyuerynge8 of the
Castell to the Emperoure. Ca. .cxiii.
e haue hard here before how the Em-
peroure assaylyd the citye of Burdeux, 16
and of the great losse that he re-
ceyuyd10 / wherof Gerames and they
within the citye were ryght ioyous,u
and made great feast, and thonkyd our lord god. Then 20
after sopper Gerames callyd all the knyghtes and other
together and sayde, ' Syra, ye haue sene this daye the
great assaulte that the Emperoure and his men hathe
made to this cytye / but, thonkid be god, the losse is 24
retorned to them / for there ore dede and woundyd a
great nombre of them / and many of them are sore
weryed uof trauaylynge,12 & thynkethe nowe to reste
themselfe / and nowe is theyr owre that they be sette 28
at supper, and custumably they sytte euer longe at
theyr table / far lenger then frewche men dothe / wher-
fore I wold thynke beste that incontynente without de-
1 verie. 2 with him.
» fiftie.
4 vnto. 6 then.
6 hereafter. T the comming. s vp.
• Fol lxxxxv. col. 1. 10 sustained. 11 ioyfull.
w-12 wjth trauaile.
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Google
Ca. cxiii.] of the last sortie of the frenchmen.
393
laye 1to arme vs all1 and to2 issue out of the citye and
go to theyr tentys and arayse them / and then let vs do
there as good 8knyghtys ought to do, to the entente •© that their
i that good songes maye be made of vs. And that the might be
remembered in
Almaynes haue no cause to say but that we be as eong.
good men as they be.' 'Syr/ quod Othon and Bar- aii agree with
Geramee,
narde, ' we be redy thus to do.' 4 Syrs,' quod Gerames,
8 4 let vs make hast, that we may retourne agayne or4
the mone rysethe.' Then they armyd themselfe. Alas, *«d preparations
are rande, but
what an yll aduenture came to them that6 nyght / for m fortune u
* , , , awaiting their
ye moste parte of tho that issuyd out were taken and sortie.
12 slayne. A, good lorde, what a losse fell to the good2
citye of Burdeaux. A, noble lady Esclaramonde / ye
may wel wepe and complayne. 6 your dayes of 7 sorowe
and2 payne and doloure aprocheth nere, wherby ye ar
16 lyke to bere such dyseases and pouertye that no man
lyuynge canne recounte it / nor ye shall neuer issue out
of that daunger and sorowe8 tyll ye be delyueryd by
the good duke Huon your husbande / when Gerames
20 and his companye were redy, they mountyd on theyr
horses / they* issuyd out at the gate as preuely as they
coude / so that they were not parseyuyd by them that
were set to watche for thewi, nor they hard not when
24 they were in the felde / they rode a fawse galope to Huon's men
the tentys, y* which they myght well se clerely by the Ser^^u,
lyghte that were in the tentys / when they came nere,
they dasshed theyr sporys to theyr horses and cryed and dath upon
28 4 Burdeaux ' / and strake and cut asonder the cordys
and staves so that many tentis fell to the erth / & suche
as came out were slayne / great noyse & cry began to
ryse in the host, & euery man ran to theyr harnase10 /
32 and Gerames & his companye slew many of theyr
enemyes, and made them to fle before them / it was
1-1 we should arme ouraelues.
* Fol. Ittxiv. col. 2. * ere.
T for. 8 trouble. 9 and.
2 omitted.
8 at. 6 all.
10 armour.
394
HUON OP BUR DEUX.
[Ca. cxiiL
But the Emperor
and his host are
ready to meet
them,
and Geramee
advises a retreat.
The Germans
overtake them
in vast numbers.
Geramea works
mighty havoc
among them,
bat his forces are
surrounded on
every side.
Gerames calls
upon Jesus Christ
for aid,
dreful to beholde the damage that they dyd there. But
fynally the losse fell 1vpon them. / for the Emperoure
and all his men were redy / when Gerames sawe howe
all the hoost was mouyd / then he sayd to his com- 4
panye, ' Syrs, it is tyme to recule2 backe / for we maye
tary here to longe / yonder cometh the emperoure with
a 8great pusaunce8 to close vs in / it is nede4 for vs to
make hast that we may go6 in sauetye.' Then all to 8
gether in one company6 retournyd, and went the way
towardes Burdeaux. But they had not gone fare or7
that they were ouertaken by the almaynes / and they
layde on on all partyes with theyr speris and swordys.8 12
Then Gerames turnyd hym to an almayne / and with
his spere ranne hym clene thrugh / and in drawynge
out his spere he fell downe dede to tbe erth / and then9
strake another, whome also he slew. He dyd such 16
dedes of armys that or7 his spere brake he slewe .v. of
his enemyes / wherof the Almayns were sore abasshid.
He brake the prese in suche wyse that none durst
aproche nere10 hym / ryght wel dyd Othon aud Bar- 20
narde and such ad was11 with them.12 But then the duke
Sauary, who with .x. thousande men laye in the busshe-
mente nere to10 the citye / when he18 hard the14 noyse
and crye, he 16 thought wel15 that they within the citye 24
were Issuyd out / when Gerames and his companye
sawe how they were enclosyd bothe before and behynde,
they were sore abasshed. IF when Gerames saw that
theyr forse and proues16 coud not auayle them, but that 28
other they must be taken or slayn, Then swetely17 he
callyd ypon our lorde lesu chryste / requyrynge hym
to saue18 his good lorde, duke Huon of Burdeux, and the
duches Esclaramond his wyfe. Then he cryed to his 32
1 Fol. Ixxxxv. back, col. 1. 2 retire. J
4 needfull. 6 away. 6 they. 1 ere
8 swords & spears. 9 he. 10 vnto. n
8 him. 13 had heard. 14 great. supposed.
16 powers. 17 earnestly. 18 and defend.
is
mightie armie.
T ere.
u were.
Digitized by
Ca. cxiii.] op gerames' valour.
395
companye, & sayd, ' Syre, I pray you hartely at this on hit
- ;- men to show all
tyine1 she we forthe your prouesses, and 2 do so2 that their prowess,
this emperoure & Almaynes haue no cause to make
4 theyr auauntes that they haue founde vs as men dys-
mayde,3 and4 let vs shew them how our swordys can
cut* Then all together 6 set on6 theyr enemy es in suche At their first
wyse that at the fyrste brounte the Almaynes were German* recoil;
8 co/wtrayned to recule6 abacke. Gerames dyd such
dedys that none durste aproche nere hym. Then the
duke Sauary weth .x. thousande men came vpon them
sodaynely / the whiche was none egall partye / and
12 also the emperoure with his great batayle came also
vpon7 Gerames and his company, who had go ten them- and Gerames'
i on men set them-
selues in to the subbarbes of the cyte and a great8 wall selves before the
behynde them at theyr backes, where as they stode9 at and'ft^t uke iJ
16 a baye agaynste the almaynes / 10 for as the wyld bore bay.
doth kepe a baye agaynst the mastyues and bayynge
houwdes, so dyd they of Burdeaux agaynst the almayns.10
Gerames was in the myddys of them, and vnder11 his
20 helme aperyd his long whyght berde / and ye emperour
who had great shame that so f ewe men in nombre shuld
kepe a baye 10 in that moner10 agaynste his pusaunce12
& do to13 his men so great domage / he parseyuyd where
24 the olde Gerames was / who had often tymys slayne The Emperor
' , , rowsthat
manye of his men and done hym suche damagys that Gerames ahau
die,
he thought he coud neuer 14 have amendys14 therof suffy-
cyent / and thought that yf he shuld haue scapyd them
28 a lyue / that he wolde do hym moch more hurte and
dyspleasure15 after / and sayd to hymselfe that he had
rather dye incontinent then he shulde not as then be
reuengyd vpon hym / & therwith incontynent he
1 Fol. lxxxxv. back, col. 2.
*~* behaue your selues so valiantly. 8 amazed. 4 but.
*-* they assayled. 6 retyre. T old. 8 mightie.
• did stand. 10-10 omitted. 11 vnderneatli.
18 highnesse. 18 vnto. 14— 14 be reuenged.
16 damage.
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Google
396
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxiii.
and running upon couchyd his spere / and ranne at1 Geramea on the one
him, kills him. • i ii , o it ,
syde or2 he was ware, so that 3 the emperour ran hym
clene thorowe y* body / so 4 this 4 ientyll knyght Gerames
fell to the erthe and dyed incontynente. great domage 4
fell that daye to Huon of Burdeaux / for he loste the
The m«n of treweste and best f rynde that he had. Alas, for that
Bordeaux had
good cause to petuous iourney that fell that daye to them of Bur-
orSeix'ieader, deaux. They had good cause6 to wepe / alas, good 8
duches Esclaramond, what losse haue ye receyuyd to
lese hym who was your chefe comforte and refuge /
ye myght haue called hym more then father. A, ryght
noble lady / there neuer came to you a greater mys- 12
chefe than ye haue by the dethe of Gerames / who
lyeth dede6 among his enemyes / when the Almaynes
and toon ail sawe that Gerames was dede / then they fought so that
exceptor knight, within a short space all they7 of Burdeaux were slayne 16
Barnard, are ^ scapyd alyue / excepte Barnarde, who was
on ye pusaunt hors Amphage : for the gambaudes and
worke that he made, none8 Almayne durste aproche
Bamard was nere hym / for Barnard nexte9 Huon was the moste 20
IThuo" brtTe valyaunt knyght of his body that was as then leuynge /
raUMiwiAham for when the almaynes sawe hym on10 that horse / they
Amphage. chasyd hym no further, then11 they wente to theyr
tentes, and Barnarde seysyd not tyll he came to9 the 24
gate of the citye / the whiche was openyd / when he
was enteryd and the gate agayne closyd12 / the burgesses
He alone return* and comunaltye sawe how Barnarde came in all alone /
to Bordeaux, demaundyd of hym and sayd / 1 syr, where is 28
andUriitthe your capetayne, the olde Gerames V Then sore
fcte^ruihueTl1 wepynge he shewyd them at lenghth the petuous and
company.
dolorous aduenture, ye whiche, when they hard that,13
they made suche cryes and wepynge that petye it was6 32
to here and to se them / the brute and noyse was so
1 old. * ere. 8 Fol. Ixxxxvi. col. 1. *-* that the.
6 for. 6 euen now. 7 them. 8 not an. 9 vnto.
10 vpon. 11 but. u closed againe. 13 omitted.
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Google
Ca. cxiii.] op the fall op bordeaux.
397
greate and lowde, that the *lady Esclaramond harde it /
wherof2 she 3 had maruayle3 and was4 in great fere /
Therwith syr Barnarde enteryd in to5 the castel gate
4 and so mountyd into the hall, where as he founde the
duches Esclaramonde / who was sore abasshyde when Esclnramonde Is
she sawe syr Barnarde come alone / who shewyd her wTemd'news, at
the great losse that she had receynid6 that day / wher
8 with for inward sorow she fell downc in a swoune, and and swoons as
so lay a longe space as thoughe she had bene dede. dead.
Then the ladyes and damoyselles sore wepyng releuyd
her / then she cast out a great crye, wryngynge her
12 handes and terynge her here, and sayde, ' A, Huon, my
ryght dere lorde, this day ye haue loste your moste
sorowfull and dolorous wyfe and welbelouyd doughter.'
IT Then7 ladyes and damoyselles & other wyues who Loud aw the
lamentations of
16 had loste theyr husbondys / fathers / and bretherne the women
came in to the castell and made suche cryes and sorowes city,
that the noyse therof was harde into the emperoura
hoste without / and it was shewed the emperour that
20 ye noyse and brute that was made within the citye and
castell was for the losse they had receyuyd that daye.
And then they sayde it shulde be good that the nexte
mornynge euery man shulde be redy to go and assayle
24 the citye, and sayde that yf euer they shulde8 wynne
it the owre then was comen. IT when the emperour9 The Emperor
resolves to enter
harde that reason, he sayde that the aduyce was very Bordeaux on the
good / and10 he wolde it shuld so be done / he gaue the foUowlng day*
28 charg ther of to his constable and marshalles. thus11
the nexte mornynge the12 host was redy, & the emper-
oure commaundyd to set forward / and so18 they came
before the citye garnysshed with all thynges nedefull
32 and necessarye for assawlte / then14 they 15marched
1 Fol. Ixxxxvi. col. 2. 2 whereat. 8-3 maruailed.
* stood. 6 at. 6 sustained. 7 the. 8 would.
• had. 10 that. 11 & bo. 12 his. w then.
14 and. 16 Fol. Ixxxxvi. back, col. 1,
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393
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca, cxiiL *
Only merchants
and burgesa«8
remained to
defend the dty,
and Bordeaux
falls before its
assailants.
The Emperor
and all his men
make entry
within the walls,
but he forbids
bis men to
violate the
women, or the
churches.
Little injury is
done to the noble
city.
forwards and aproched the cytye / and when they came
there they gaue a great crye, and enteryd into the dykys
and reryd vp theyr ladders to the walles in dyuera
places / so that they that were within were sore 4
abasshyde1 / For within were but burgesses and mar-
chauntys, who coude lytel skyll of 2 the 2 warre / how be
it, they mountyd vpon the walles to 8defend3 theyr
citye. But the citye was so sore assayld on all partyes / 8
that the defendauntys wyste not where to make resyst-
ence / the shot of them without flewe so thycke that
none within durste appere vpon the walles, wherby
they enterid perforce into the citye and alewe as many 12
as they met withall in theyr enteryng. And then they
went to4 the gate and openyd it / so that the emperour
and all his lordys enteryd into the citye. Then euery
man wente abrode in the stretis to take presoners and 16
to spoyle mennes houses. IT when the emperour sawe
how be was lorde of the citye / he 5 made it to be
cryed6 in euere strete that no man 2shulde be so hardy2
on payne of dethe / 6to vyolat6 any woman, or deflowre 20
any mayd / nor to breke any church, nor to set any
hous a fyre / and also all suche as were in any churche
for sauegarde / that they shulde go at theyr pleasure
without any trouble or daunger7 of body or goodys / 24
8 the emperour, who was a wyse prince, thought in hym
selfe that great damage and petye it shulde9 be to dys-
troy and put to ruyne such a noble10 citye / so stronge
and so2 well furnysshed with burgesses & marchauntes. 28
When suche as were fled vnto strong places for refuge
vnderstode ye emperours commaundement, euery man &
woman retourned to theyr owne houses, so that there
was but lytell damage 11 done / and that was by them 32
1 afrayd. 8-2 omitted. *—* and defended. 4 vnto.
*-* caused it to be proclaimed. 6-6 should wronge.
T either. 8 for. 9 would. 10 famous.
11 Fol. lxxxxvi. back, col. 2.
Digitized by
Ca. cxiii.] op esclaramonde's care for clariet. 399
that enteryd fyrst. 1T when the lady Esclaramond Esciaramonde
foam that, unless
sawe howe the citye was taken / ye may be sure she God aid her, she
will surely die.
*had great dolour,1 for fyrste she sawe her citye taken
4 by 2 her enemyes,2 and her selfe closed within the castel
yll furnysshed with wytayles / and moehe people with
her / wher by she sawe clerely without god dyd ayde
her that her dethe aprochyd nere. Then peteously she Piteoosiy the
_ , , , _ pray* to Heaven
8 complayned to god and sayd, ' Very god, on whome I for help,
beleue fermely, and for whos sake I haue lef te my fyrste
mysbeleue & forsake my parentis and frendys to take
to my husbonde a chrysten man / to ye entent to reseyue
12 thy law / syr,3 I requyre the of thy grace to haue petye
of me, pouer, desolate creature / and to kepe & defende
my dere chyde4 from all yll encomberaunce / for yf it she petitions for
J J J , , the life of her
be thy pleasure to saue my chyld I am content to abyde child.
10 such6 fortune as6 it shall please the to send me, and
besyde that, I requyre thy grace to saue and kepe Huon
my dere lorde and husbonde.' Then all wepynge, she calling Barnard
J r* to her, she begs
called to7 her syr Barnard, and sayd, 'ryght dere frend, him protect
*" Clariet,
20 I can take no counsayle now but of you / ye se well
how our dethes aprocheth / and how8 it is impossyble
for vs to kepe and defende this castell agaynste the
emperoure, who hathe won the citye, and I dought yf
24 he enter into this castell parforse, we shall be the fyrste
that shall receyue dethe / and by cause I see wel I
cannot scape from hense, I require you, my dere
frende, and by the trouth that ye bere to7 Huon, my
28 lord and yours, thai incontynent ye take my dere
doughter Claryet, whome I holde here in myne armes /
and fynde some meanes that ye maye departe out of
this citye, and bere hyr strayght to the abbey of Clune, and bear her to a
32 the 9 which is in Borgoyne / and delyuer her into the ^y!^1"*
kepynge of the abbot there, and recommaunde me to7
1-1 was ryght sorrowful]. J— * the enemie. 8 0 God.
4 children. 6 what. 8 omitted. 7 vnto. 8 that.
9 Fol. Ixxxxvii. coL 1.
Digitized by
400
HUON OP BURDEUX
[Ca. cxiil
Barnard see* that
his strength Is
now of no arail,
and promises
to fulfil
Ksclaramonde's
bidding.
The Emperor
and his army
come before the
castle.
Efldaramonde
desires to speak
with the
Emperor,
and urges htm to
have mercy upon
her.
hym. he is vncle to my husbande Huon, great vncle
to my chyld.' ' Lady,' quod Barnard, ' I know well yf
I be taken here I shall be1 slayn. Howe be it, yf I
coude se or knowe that my abydynge here coude ayde 4
or socour you, bothe for myne honour and for the loue
of my2 lorde3 Huon, I wolde neuer depart hense fro
you / but my resystence and force is but of small
valeue / and by cause I wolde serue you as I am bound 8
to do / I am redy aparayled4 to take on* me that
aduenture as to here your chyld awaye and to set her
in sauegard by the grace of 6god.'6 when the duches
vnderstode Barnarde, she was well comfortyd / and as 12
for her selfe, she regardyd nother her lyf nor dethe /
when she knewe that her chylde shulde be sauyd.
Then she delyueryd her chylde to7 Barnarde / to the
entent that in the nyght time he shuld issu out. Then 16
the emperour and his lordis came before the castel.
when the duches knewe that / she came to the gate,
and at a wyndowe she desyryd to speke with y*
emperoure / who was there redy present, and sayde / 20
' dame,8 say what ye wyll to me at your pleasure ' /
•when she sawe the emperour, she sayd / ' syr, I knowe
well ye are the hede and chef e 10 of all crystendome,11 &
noblest / wherby ye ar bounde to defend and kepe from 24
yll all noble men & women / I that am the doughter of
an hye and myghty emperoure / and that for ye louo
of 12 Iesu chryst haue forsaken myne owne false byleue /
to byleue on6 ye christen faythe / syr, I requyre 18you13 28
haue pety14 of me and of all thos that be here with me,
as9 to respyte our lyues / and to put fro16 all rancoure,
& malyce, and pardon them 16 that no thyng had to do
I vtterly. 2 good. 8 arid Maister. 4 fournished.
6 vppon. our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ.
7 vnto. 8 Madame. 9 and. 10 cheefest
II the christened. 1J my good Lord and Sauioure.
u-u (for his sake that made and created you) to.
14 and compassion.
you.
16 Fol. lxxxxvii. col. 2.
Digitized by
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Ca. CXW.] OP THE EMPEROR AND ESCLARAMOXDE. 401
with the begynnynge of this warre ' / whew the emper-
our1 harde the resonable request cf this lady, he cast
fro hym all the mortall hate that he had to2 her and to
4 them that were wj't/nn with her. Thew he, mouyd The Emperor
' J feele pity for her,
with pety and compassyon of the noble lady, answerid
and sayd / * dame,8 for the loue of our lord Iesu chryst promieee
* ' * her protection,
I repele fro me all my dyspleasure / so that ye render if «he yield the
castle to him,
8 to2 me this castell and to put it vnder myne obeysance
to vse it at my pleasure / & to yelde your body as my and herself as
presoner, and all tho that be within, and thus ye shall
haue all your lyues sauyd.' 'Syr/ quod the duches,
12 ' laude and prayes be4 to our lorde god6 for this grace
that ye shewe vnto me and to my companye.' Then
the emperour wente backe, and made expresse com- The Emperor
orders no man
maundement thrughe out the citye / that no man to be injured,
16 shulde be so hardy as to do any hurte or iniury to any
maner of parsone within the citye : but to suffer euery »nd suffers aii to
r J 7 J remain in their
man to abyde in theyr owne howses peasybly without houses, which
none are to
pyllyngea / wherof the burgesses and comunalte of the puiage.
20 citye were ryght ioyefulL Thus, as ye haue harde, the
citye of Burdeaux was taken by the emperour who was
chosyn in Almayne, & comyttyd by the emperour
Charlemayn tyll7 his sone Loys shulde be of full age
24 and able to kepe8 the empyre.
% How the duches Esclaramond deliueryd
her doughter Clariet to Barnarde to bere
to2 the abbot of Cluny / of whome the
28 abbot was ioyfull. Ca. C.xxiiii [= Cxiv].
1 had. 8 vnto. 3 Madame. 4 giuen.
6 Iesus Christ. 6 killinge. 7 vntill. 8 rule.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. D D
Digitized by
402 huon op burdeux. [Ca. cxiv.
e haue harde the peteous8 taking of the
citye of Burdeaux, and of ye trete and
apoyntnie?it that the duches Esclara-
monde had made with the emperour / 4
8 when she had made her apoiwtment /
EjioUramonde she went to4 her company peteously wepynge / and
tells her com-
panionsofth« shewyd them all the maner of her tretye, wnerof euery
wrVen<te7o°fthe parsone was glad that theyr lyues shulde be sauyd / 8
town* but they made grat sorow for that the duches shuld be
come a presoner / 3thew she callyd Barnard, and sayd,
Her daughter she 1 Syr, wheK it is nyght issue out by the posterne with
Barnard; my doughter Clary et, and bere her to4 y* abbot of 12
who promises to Cluney, who is her great vncle.' 4 Dame/ 5 quod he,
deliver her to the , .. , .
abbot of ciuny, 4 be 6in suerty that6 I shall not reste .il nyghtis in one
ier great unde. ^ace ^7 j naue delyueryd your doughter to4 y*8
abbot of Cluney her great vncle.' Thew Barnarde toke 16
leue of the duches, who kyste her doughter at her
departynge0 / There was a posterne that opcnyd into
the feldis ; 8 it was so small that Barnarde was fayne to
lede his horse in his hande / the nyght was darke, 10and 20
Barnarde10 knew 11 well the wayes12 / mountyd on his
aii night Barnard horse / and18 the chylde in his armys / and so rod
rides to fulfil his
promise. forthe and passyd the laundes of Burdeaux, and was
neuer sene by any14 man tyll7 the nexte day / he rode 24
so all ye nyght that his horse was wery. And when he
Bawe that he was past al daungers, and scapyd all
perelles / then he rode at hys ease for loue of the
He was not chylde / and he coinplayn}rd greatly for the good horse 28
mounted on
Huon's swift Amphage that IIuow had lefte in his kepyng ;15 but he
horse, Amphage, ^ norge Wfy4 hym for fere that
I Fol. Ixxxxvii. back, col. 1. 2 pitifull. 3 &.
4 vnto. 6 Madame.
*-6 of good cheere and by the grace of our Lord ami
Sauiour Jesus Christ. 7 vntill. 8 good.
9 sore weeping and pitifully complayning. 10— 10 but he.
II Fol. lxxxxvii. back, col. 2. 12 &c afterwards he.
13 with. 14 mortall. 16 vntill hia returne.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. CXiv.] HOW BARNARD RIDES TO CLUNY.
403
he shulde haue delt the worse with the lady Esclara-
monde / y* which had bene trewe / for the emperour for the Emperor
longed to have
louyd so wel the horse,1 that he desyryd more to haue trim again for
* himself.
4 agayne the horse2 then3 to win the citye / and therfore
Barnarde durste not take the horse with hym. So
longe Barnarde rode that he ariuyd at Monglew, the
which is callyd Lyon, on the ryuer of Rone / and fro
8 thens he rode to Mascon, and fro thence he restyd not
tyll he cam to the abbey of Cluney. 4 Then he alyghtyd, He reaches
and desyryd to speke with the abbot.5 when the abbot SSJb/the
sawe Barnarde with a chylde in his armes, he had6 E^ramonde's
12 maruayle therof / 6 when Barnard saw the abbot al me,Mg0*
wepynge,7 salutyd hym, and sayd / 'syr, the ryght
desolat duches of Burdeux / your nese, wyfe to8 the
duke Huon of Burdeux your nephue, hathe sent here
16 to8 you her doughter Claryet.' Then the good abbot
embracyd hym, and toke the chylde and kyssed it mo
then .xx. timys / and demaundyd why he brought the
chylde to8 hym / 'syr,' quod Barnarde, 'the citye of Barnard relates
J v » * » the disasters that
20 Burdeaux hathe bene besegyd by y8 emperoure of have befallen
. i . , Bordeaux and its
Alniayne / and so straytly kepte that it was nere hand duke,
famysshed / manye knyghtis that were within ar
slayne / so that Huon your nephue, by the counsayll
24 9of the duches his wyfe, & consent of all his company,
is departyd out of Burdeaux to seke socoure of the
kynge of Amphamie, brother to8 Esclaramond, Huowa
wyfe / and so it is a longe tyme syn he departyd, <& we
28 neuer coude here any 10 word of hym / and thus he lefte
vs in Burdeaux, and our chefe capytayne was ye old
Gerames, your cosyn, who was brother to the good
prouost Guyer / & so it was 11 on11 a nyght we issuyd out
32 and rode to ye emperours tewtys and slew many of our
1 the horse so well. 8 agayne after horse. 3 for.
4 &. 6 and. 6 great 7 hee. 8 vnto.
9 Fol. lxxxxviii. col. 1. 10 any omitted.
n-ii that vppon.
D D 2
404
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca.cxi?.
The abbot takes
the ohUd in hia
aims,
and promises to
nourish and tend
her carefully.
She is given to a
noble lady of the
country to nurse
her.
enemyes, and when we sawe1 tymo, we returnyd towardis
our citye / but by some spye we were parseyuyd when
we issuid out, wherby the emperoure, knowynge therof,
sende duke Sauary his brother with .x.M. men to lye 4
in a busment nere to ye citye / so that when we had
thought to haue enteryd into the cytye, duke Sauary
was before vs wi'tfc .x.M. mew / ther we fought a long
space / but fynally the olde Gerames and his companye 8
were all slayne, none scapyd but my selfe, and that was
by reason of my horse / so I enteryd into the citye,
where as there was made great sorowe / and the nexte
daye the emperour with great assaulte van ye citye and 12
cam to the castel, where as the duches was, who saw
well she coud not longe holde the castell ; she made her
tretye to saue her body and her companye, and so they
ar all presoners / or2 she delyueryd vp ye castell she 16
delyueryd me her doughter, and so I issuyd out at a
posterne preuely and was not parsayuyd / therfore, syr,
your nephue3 hathe sent you her doughter to the
entente that for the loue of her father and of her ye 20
wold kepe and norysshe her tyll her father, duke Huon,
be4 l^tournyd.' when the abbot vnderstode Barnarde
he began to wepe, & 6toke the chyld in his armys, and
kyssyd her of tentymes, and sayde, * my dere chyld, yf 24
it please our lorde god I shall be to you bothe father
and mother, and shall norrysshe you tyll6 ye be great /
and then mary you to7 some pusaunte8 pry nee / in
whome it shall lye to conquere agayne9 your herytage / 28
londys / and sygnoryes / for I haue here in this10 house
suche treasure that it is sufficyent to conquere y'11 hole
empyre.' Then the abbot sente for a noble lady of the
countre,and a nouryse, and delyueryd7 them the chylde12 32
1 our. 2 before. 3 neece.
6 Fol. Ixxxxviil. col 2. fl vntill.
8 mightie. 9 omitted.
" a. " for.
4 were.
7 vnto.
10 my.
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Google
Ca. CXV.] OF THE SURRENDER OF THE CASTLE OF BORDEAUX. 405
to kepe and to nourysshe / for a fayred lnov better
furnysshyd1 of her age was neuer sene. Then the
abbot sayd to Barnarde / ' syr, ye shall abyde here styll Barnard is
■* * ** *"* invited to remain
4 with me tyll2 this chylde be of age, or elles her father3 with the abbot,
retournyd.' Now let vs leue to speke of this yonge
chylde Claryet, and of the abbot / and retoume to
speke of the dolerours company that were in the castell
8 of the noble citye of Burdeaux.
% How the duches Esclaramond yeldyd vp
the castell to the emperour / and how she
and her companye were 4led to pryson4 in
12 the citye of Magence. Ca. Cxv.
^^fiv 6 naue we^ hard here before that after
PmWJ^VI the departynge of Barnard fro the
(§}MKjU) castell in Burdeaux with Claryet, Huons
16 MMmk&y doughter / how the emperour had made
^^^^^ a tretye with the duches Esclaramonde
for the delyuerauflce of the castell / the whyche passyd ;
and on the next mornynge the duches spake with the
20 emperour, who with all his men were5 there redy before The Emperor's
the place abydynge to haue the delyueraunce of the before the castle,
castell. And 6 when he sawe the duches at a wyndowe ddJveranee!
ouer the gate, he sayd, ' dame,7 I wyll that the promys
24 that ye made me y ester day ye vpholde,8 or elles I wyl
do9 as I thynke best.' 'Syr/ quod the duches, 'I am Esclaramonde,
redy to fulfyll my promys, so that y6 promes me agayne ^dow^mbes
that my body, and al ladyes and damoyselles and other treaty tthe has
28 to10 be sauyd, & not towchyd by no vyllayny, UOr conquerors,
none11 yll done to12 our bodyes.' 'Dame/7 quod the
emperour, 'all this that ye 13saye13 I promyse to
vpholde; 8 but you and all suche as be with you shall be
1— 1 creature. 2 vntill. 3 b». *— 4 prisoners.
6 was. 6 Fol. Ixxxxviii. back, col. 1. 7 Madame.
8 performe. • according. 10 shall. u no.
12 ?nto. 13~13 require heere.
Digitized by
406
HCON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxv.
and offers herself
a prisoner.
The castle-gate is
opened,
and the Emperor
and his lords
euter within it.
Esclaramonde
and all within the
castle are sent as
prisoners to
Mayence,
and she herself
is thrown Into a
deep dungeon.
The Emperor
orders all the
men of Bordeaux
to do homage to
Thirteen days
later he seizes
some neighbour-
ing provinces.
my prysoners.' ' Syr,' quod the duchess, ' my lyfe and
my body and all suche as be here with me, I put them
into1 the sauegarde of god and of you.' Then she
descendyd downe & come into the hall, where as she 4
founde her petuous2 company makynge great sorow eche
to other, for they knewe not yf 8 euer they shulde mete
agayne.4 Then the duches commaundyd to open the
gate, the whiche was done.5 Then the emperoure and 8
all his lordys enteryd into the castell / but he wolde
not go in to the hall tyl he had all the ladies and other
brought out / to the entent that they shulde make no
request to hym, & he ordayned a .M. knyghtes of the 12
most aunsyentys men of his hoste / ethen he delyueryd
the duches and vi ladyes with her, and all the other
prysoners, as well they that were within the castell as
other that had ben taken before at dyuers skyrmysshes / 16
he6 sent them stray te to the citye of Magence / and set
them all in pryson in towres and other places / but y*
duches was put all alone in a stronge towre, within the
whiche there was a depe dongeon / and therin she was 20
set, out of the whiche she neuer issued tyll7 she was
delyueryd by Huon her husbonde. Then the emperour,
8beynge in the castell of Burdeaux, sente ouer all y*
countre that all such as were alyue shuld come and do 24
theyr homage to9 hym and take theyr londys of hym /
ye whiche they dyd.10 Then he made his prouostis and
ofFycers to do iustyce both in the citye and countre ;
and after that the emperour had bene there .viii dayes 28
he went out of the citye and rode and toke possessyon
of Blames and of Gerounde, and set there his ofFycers /
6 when he had full possessyon of all the countre he lefte
kepers in the countre / and so retournyd to the citye of 32
1 in. * omitted. 3 where. 4 or not
6 immediately. 6 and. T vntill.
8 Fol. lxxxxviii. back, col. 2. 9 vnto.
10 according to his commaundement.
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Google
Ca. cxvi.] op huon in the castle op adamant. 407
Magens, where as he was receyuyd with great ioye.1
Now let vs leue to speak of y* emperour Thyrry / and
speke of duke Huon of Bordeaux, beyng in the castell
4 of the Adamante in great pouerte and famine.
% How there aryud at the castell of the
adamant a shyp full of sarasyns, wherein
was the bysshop of Melayne / and how
8 Huon causyd them to be chrystenyd ; and
then he brought them into the castell,
where as they founde great plente of vytayle.
Ca. C.xvii [= Cxvi].
E haue hard here before how Huon was
in the castell of the Adamant in great
pouerte and famyne, where as he had Huon*rows
* . , , feeble in the
been .X. dayes without mete and castieof
Adamant, for
drynko excepte Appelles / and frute lack of strong
sustenance.
that grewe in the gardayne / wher by he became so
febyl and 2 so voyde2 that he had scawt8 powre to
sustayne hymselfe on4 his fete / he founde there ryches
20 ynowe, golde and syluer, aparell & iouelles, and ryche
beddynge / so that he wantyd no thyng excepte vytay 11 /
and as he 5walkyd in the chambre where as the tresure
lay, he beheld an arch vaultyd, rychly peyntyd with He discovers a
rich arch, under
24 gold and asure, vnder the which stode a ryche chayre, which stood a
and ther in a coushyn of clothe of gold borderid with ^^cushion.
perlis and presyous stonys; Huon, who was wery of and there he sits
* down to rest.
walkynge, sate downe in the chayre to reste hym.
28 Then he began sore to muse, castynge down his loke to
the erthe, and by reason that his longe mantell had upon the pere-
J ment at his feet
swepte the powder awaye fro the pauement, there he perceives
apery d letters of golde wretten on the pament ; 6 he red
32 then / 6 the tenoure of them was, who so euer rede
1 and triumph. *-* weake. 3 scarce. * vppon.
6 Fol. lxxxxix. col. 1. 6 and.
Digitized by
408 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. cxvi.
and thenee learns tli03 letter shall fynd that vnder this pauement there is
that underneath
the pavement is a a seller with vytayle, bothe brede, flesche, and wyne /
oellar filled with
aii kinds of food, and of all sondry metys for man or woman to ete of /
But only such a« but the letters sayd, that who so euer1 enter into this 4
are free from sin
■haii enter the seller, without he be with out dedly synne, as sone as
he toucheth any of the mete, sodaynly he shall dye.
when Huo/i had red al the letters he had great maruayle
and fere, and thoughte in hym selfe that when he 8
departyd fro Burdeaux, he was confessyd or2 his prest
dyed / and syn that tyme he coude not remembre any
thynge that he had comyttyd that shnld be dedely
Huonprayito syn, 8 then he made his prayers to our lorde god 12
deuoutly, sore wepyng / and when he had endyd his
prayers as he knelyd on4 his knees before the chayre,
On the aide of the he saw hanginge on4 the syde of the chayre a lytell
key of gold, keye of golde; he toke it5 in his harcde & began to 16
uo^writSnupon muse on the wrytynge that sayd / * who so euer enter
!ft* in to this castell, thoughe they be valyaunt & wyse / .
6noble knyghtys, yet they shai not knowe well what to
do 1 / then he sayd to7 hym selfe / 1 rather then I shulde 20
dye for famine, it were better to dye shortely then
with the key he longe to 8langusihe.' 8 Then Hu°on recommaundid
XkeUeading to hymselfe to the ayde and helpe of 10 god, and toke the
uum" ' key and openyd a lytell wycket and drewe the dore to7 24
within all teas hym. Then he regardyd11 into the seller, the whiche
clear as mid-day,
was as clere as thoughe the sonne in the myddes of the
day had enterid in at .x.ia wyndowes / 13 ho went downe
and Huon tees a a14 .vii. score grefes, then he lokyd16 on the ryght syde16 28
great oven. sawQ a great ouen with .ii. mouthes, the whiche
And near the caste out a great clernes / then he saw nere therto .x.
MriM^oTyoang fayre yonge men, they were all of the Fayry, .iiii. of
Saita^r them had17 made the past for bred / and .ii delyueryd 32
1 should. 2 before. 8 and. 4 vppon. 6 vp.
6 or. 7 vnto. 8-8 endure in this hunger and thirst.
• Fol. lxxxxix. col. 2. 10 almightie. 11 looked downe.
18 the. 13 and so. 14 about. 15 regarded.
16 hand. 17 omitted.
Digitized by
Ca. CXVi] HOW HUON ENTERS A MARVELLOUS CELLAR.
409
the louys to other .ii., & they dyd set them downe on1
a ryche clothe of sylke / then the other .ii. men toke
the buys and deliuerid them to2 one man hy .ii. louys
4 atones / and he dyd set them into the ouen to hake /
and at the other mouthe of the ouen ther was a man
that drewe oat the whyght louis and pastes, & before
hym there was a nother yongo man that reseyuyd them
8 and put them into baskettis3 rychely payntyd. whew -
Huon had aduysed them, he had great maruayle, and
came and salutyd them, sayenge / 'syr, I praye to4 Hoon
them,
god5 saue you & all your company e' / ewhen they hard
12 Huon speke, they gaue7 no maner of answere, but *«* they make no
beheld eche other/ 6 when Huon saw that none of them
wold make hym any answere / he was sore abasshyd /8
how be it he sayd / 1 syrs, ye that be here, I coniure Hoon speaks to
in . „ j»,i/».ia iftii * / them ln t,ie name
10 you in the name of the father,9 sone, and9 holy gost / ofaiithe
& of the 10blessyd vyrgyn Mari his mother and of heaven,
all sayntys10 / angellis and arkeangellys, and of all
the courte selestyall / that ye answere me to that I do
20 demaunde.'11 Then they all sessyd12 theyr laboure and
busynes and behelde Huon, and rubbyd of the paste
& mele 12 of theyr handis and fyngers / then6 the mayster
13 of them behelde Huon, and sayd / ' frende, ye do vs OneofthefaiHee
A* great wrong to coniure vs / we wyil that ye14 knowe yf for hit speech;
ye were other Sarasyn or paynym ye shuld neuer
depart 12 hense without dethe / your trouthe and noblenes
hath preseruyd you / ye ought greatly to thanke god /
28 I knowe wel ye haue great hunger, for it is .x. dayes
syn ye dyd other ete or drynke any thynge excepte
alonely of the frute that ye haue10 founde in the
gardayne / the which as yet is not rype and redy to ete.
32 Therfore, Huon,fayre syr, I knowe well15 ye haue great
1 vppon. * vnto. 8 which were. 4 our lord.
6 to. 6 and. 7 vnto hym.
8 and greatly troubled in his mind. 9 and of the.
10-10 omitted. 11 of you. 12 from.
13 Fol. lxxxxix. back, col. 1. " well. 16 that.
Digitized by
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410
HDON OP BURDKUX
[Ca. CXVL
bat he offers him
food and drink
in an inner
chamber, richly
furnished.
As long as Hnon
remains in the
castle, he shall
have any manner
of food and wine
he may desire.
Hnon demands
what people they
are that inhabit
this pLsoe,
but the fairy is
wrathful at the
question.
He tells Huon,
however, that the
castle was built
by Oberon's
father, Julius
hunger / Uherfore, yf ye wyl drynke or ete, enter into
yonder ryche chambre the which ye se open / where ye
shal fynd the table redy set,* and the pottys of syluer
and the wessell of golde borderyd wtt/j precyoua stonys 4
and perle / and the basyns of golde, with1 ewers with
water to wasshe your handys / then3 syt4 downe at the
table and there ye shall fynde metis and drynkis such
as ye wyll wysshe for, and as longe as ye wyl tary here 8
in this castell, ye shall haue euery daye lyke seruys or
better yf ye lyste / for any mete that ye wyl wysshe for
ye shal haue it at your desyre,6 and of wyne in lyke
wyse two tymys in6 the day, without ye wyl fast. But, 1 2
syr, I requyre you of one thinge : that fro hewseforth ye
do not coniure me nor none of my company / and then
ye shall haue euery thynge at your desyre/ ' syr/ quod
Huon, 'for henseforthe I shall not speke to7 you / so 16
that by the coniuracyon that I haue coniuryd you, ye
wyll shewe me what people ye be that abyde thus8 in
this castell, and what ye call this castell, and who is
lorde therof / and by whome al the ryches that is here 20
within is kept ? I wyll go ete some mete, and then I
praye you shewe9 me.' Then they answeryd Hu10on
ryght fersly, and sayd / ' and,11 thou false and vntrewe,12
for to demaund any suche thynge of vs / at this tyme 124
shall shew you / but afterwarde / by me nor by none
other of my company ye shall neuer here worde
spoken.' * Syr/ quod Huon, ' therof 13 I am sory,4 and
I hartely desyre you yet yf here after I speke to7 you 28
alone that ye wyll answere me.' ' Naye, suerly,' quod
he, 1 that wyll I neuer do / but I shall shewe you that
I haue promysyd, 14syn ye wyll14 knowe it Syr, knowe
for trouthe that Iulius Cesar, father to the13 noble kyng 32
1 and. 2 and the cloth layd. 5 and there. 4 you.
* pleasure. 6 of. * vnto. 8 hoere. 9 it vnto me.
10 Fol. lxxxxix. back, col. 2. *l Ah. u knight.
w the request 14-14 seeing you are so desirous to.
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Ca. CXVL] HOW OJESAR CAME OP OLD TO THE CASTLE. 411
Oberon, causyd this castell to be made by crafte of the
fayry / the whiche castell can not be greuyd no take and that no force
• til At t T t • 68,1 ^*rTO ^*
parforce / so it fortuned that1 on2 a daye that lulius Attercnur
4 Ceser, after he had vanquesshed ye great pompee / he be came £ompey'
came into Alexandre to Tholomeus kyng of Egypt, and ^^cwque^ed
dyscomfytyd hyin and toke fro hym all his londis to o^gyp^gave'"*
gyue it to3 his syster, the fayre Cleopatre, who was i^oeo^at^
8 quene of that londe, and after she maryed Marcus iarkAnton/.
Antonius / and after that lulius Ceser had this done to
refresshe hym / he come hether withe the quene of the Thenoe he came
1 to the castle
preuy Isle / and broughte her the same nyght into this with the lady of
12 castel / and there were .iii kyngys of the lynage of Three king* of
Tholomeus, who when they knew that Ceser was in b^e^mm"117
this castell / they made an army, and with many bert*
shyppys and galyes they came, and laid sege before this
16 castell / and laye at the sege a longe space and coude but they could
do blip no hurt*
not hurte it of the value of a4 peny / so long they lay
here that they were sore dyspleasyd therewith / and so
they thought to depart home into theyr owne couwtrees /
20 but by reason that theyr shyppes were nay lyd with Iron And their ships
ft t t . k t _ . were drawn to the
naylis they coude not departe5 hence. For the Adamant rock,
Adamante stone, that by nature drawethe 6 the Iron to3 L^mSis\f th°
hym / and so they laye here so longe that they all dyed bdn^unableeto™,
24 myserablye for famyne and rage / for no shyppe can fiSIne.died0f
depart6 hens without it be pynnyd with nayles of
woode and not of Iron. And where as ye demaunde
fro whence comythe the treasure that is here within this
28 castell / knowe for a truthe that it was the ryches that The riches <n the
t t t t t castle were left
these thre kyngys lefte in theyr shyppys when they in the Egyptian
were dede7 / the which treasure, after that they were Indwere brought
ded, Cesar causyd it to be brought into this castell / aterthe^eath of
32 and or8 he dyed he delyueryd vnto me the kepynge of ^e^° ""^ la
this castell and treasure. And I and .xL other of my
felawes are here condempnyd by the fayrey to abyde
1 omitted. 2 vppon. 8 vnto. 4 one. 6 from.
6 Fol. c. col. 1. 7 dyed. 8 bsfore.
Digitized by
412 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. cxvi.
Forty-one men here to1 the ende of the worlde. And2 when that
are condemned to
•bide in the castle tydynges came to the knowlege of 3 kynge Oberon that
till the world's
•nd. his father, Iuliizs Cesar, was slayne and murderyd
After cawar»s within the senat of Rome by them whome he tnistyd 4
murder at Rome,
Oberon swore well / kynge Oberon toke suche dyspleasure that he
never to visit the
castle again. made promyse and assurement that he wolde neuer
come here more / & no more he hath done, for he
thought yf he shuld haue comen hether4 he shulde 8
haue dyed for sorow, for the great loue that he had
The fairy vnto his father Iulius Ceser. And syn ye wyll knowe
isoioriadas, my name, I am callyd Gloriadas, and this castell
caitedth?*11* is callyd the Adamante. Nowe I haue shewyd you the 12
Adamant. trouthe of your demaund, and one thynge I saye to 1 you,
yo shall neuer departe5 hens as longe as you leue,
without ye flye in the ayre as a byrde dothe flye.'6
IT when Huon vnderstode hym he was ryght 16
After Huon had sorowfull. And so after he hadde well eten and
eaten and drank,
he came to a dronken at his owne pleasure, he toke his leue and
chamber door,
departid, and 7 came to1 a dore of a chambre, and sawo
and having found letters of gold wryten ouer the dore, wherby he had 20
entered.' knowlege where the key was / he toke it and openyd
it is made of the dore and enteryd into the chambre, and saw how 8
wfth^u^and1 all the chambre was made of Chrystall payntyd rychely
aii the battles of with gold and Asure. And there was porturyd9 all the 24
Itexander's deeds bataylys of Troye and all the dedys of Alexander,
are portrayed onio the pauement was sprede a brode Roses and11
The floor is flowres, and herbys, swete smellynge aboue all other
sweetly-scented sauorys of the worlde, and in the chaumbre there were 28
nd slUging-birds dyuers byrdys fly enge abought 11 the chaumbre,11 sy ngy nge
fly^aboutthe gQ maruayious swetely that12 ioye it was to here them.
The rychesse and18 beaulty of that chaumbre can14 not
be dyscryuyd. Huon had maruayious great pleasure to 32
1 vnto. * Nowe. 8 the noble. 4 again, that.
6 from. • nowe I haue shewed you your desire.
7 Fol. e. col. 2. 8 that. 9 portraiture of the.
10 vppon. u omittfid. 12 great 13 and melodie.
" could.
Digitized by
Ca. CXVi.] OP THE SPLENDOUR OF THE CASTLE'S INNER CHAMBERS. 413
beholde it / 1 there he sawe a table set full of mete / The rarest food
is spread upon a
and therby stode great pottys of gold garnysshyd with uwe,
precyous stonys full of wyne / there was no mete in the
4 world but that there it was redy / Huon had good and Huon eau of
apetyte to ete, for he hadde eten but lytell before / by
reason of the talkynge that he had withe Gloriadas.
1Then two yenge men broughte hym a basyn of golde ^^tTim^by
8 broderyd with perles to wasshe his handys / & a nother two young mail
brought hym a towell to wype his handys. Then Huon hands,
sate downe at a ryche table, the whiche was broderyd
with prsyous stonis / the clothe that laye vpon the
12 table was of sylke rychely wroughte / Huon dyd ete his
mete, for he had good apetyte therto / a goodlye yonge
man caruyd vnto2 hym, and another bare his cuppe /
Many folkes there was to 3 do all y*3 seruyse that aii the serried
.he may require
16 myghte be done4 vnto any creature leuynge m ye are done for him
worlde / and he spake to5 them, but none wold answere6 to whom he
one word, 7wherwith he 8 had great dyspleasure;8 but from tbera.
when he saw there was none other remedy he9 let it pas
20 and forgat it, bycause of the swete melody that the
byrdys made, oftentymes he wysshyd for10 Esclaramond
his wyfe,4 and for his doughter Clariet, and for Gerames /
Barnard / and Rycharde, and his other companye that
24 he lefte at Burdeaux : thus Huon was seruyd in the
castell of the adamant / when he had dynyd the
seruauntis toke vp ye table and brought hym water & a
towel to wasshe his handis / then he rose 11 fro the table
28 and went12 into the seller, where as he saw euery
thynge as he had sene before / he salutyd them in
passynge forby,13 but they made none answere / so he At length he
leaves the
cam to5 the greses and mountyd vp / and then wente heautifui
32 and sportyd hym fro chambre to cliambre / and then
1 and. 2 for. *— 3 haue done. 4 omitted,
6 vnto. 6 him. 7 Fol. c. back, col. 1.
8-8 was angrie and sore displeased. 9 did.
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414
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxviL
and returns to
the garden above.
When he la
hungry again,
he goes again to
the cellar, and
the food ia ready
fur him as before.
Although he is
angry because
none will upeuk
with him, hit
health recover*,
and he wishes
himself at
Bordeaux
battling with
his enemies.
At length he sees
a Spanish ship
approaching the
port.
into the gardayne, wherin he toke great pleasure ; and
when the tyme came1 to ete he retournyd in to the
seller, and so into the chambre wher as he fouwd eueiy
tliynge redy as he had done before / but he was sore2 4
displeasyd that they that seruyd hym wold not speke
no word / thus he3 was there a hole moneth / and toke
suche pleasure there that he recoueryd his helth and
strengthe and beautye / greatly he was anoyed that 8
there was no man there that wold speke one worde to4
hym / oftentymes he wysshyd hymselfe at Burdeaux
with a .CM. men of 6 armis to gyue batayle to4 y*
emperour who had done hym so moche damage. And 1 2
on6 a daye as Huon walkyd in the hall saynge7 his
prayers, he lokyd out at a wyndow into the see / and he
8a w a far of a8 shyp with full sayle comynge9 to a ryue
at that porte / and they were .iiii. score marchauntys 16
all of Spayne / 10 they knew not what port they
aryuyd11 at.
Huon fears for
the safety of the
•hip.
but it dashes in
among the old
rotten ships,
and is unhurt.
12 % How Huon saw a shyp aryue at the port
of the13 Adamant. Ca. C.xvii. 20
Hen Huon saw this shyppe arryue at
the porte he greatly complaynyd for
them, and sayd / 'a, good lord, what
asorte of good marchauwtis haue here 24
bene lost / yf they of yonder shyppe
knewe therof they wolde not arryue here by theyr
wylles ' / and so then he sawe the shyppe com in with
such a force, and it dasshed in so sore amonge the 28
other olde shyppys, that the shyppe was nere 14 perysshed.
But the other vesselles15 / were so old that they were
1 for. 2 and greatly. 8 Huon. 4 vnto. 6 at
vppon.
7 of.
8 a a in text.
9 comming before with full. 10 and.
u did arriue. 12 Fol. c. back, col. 2. 13 Castle of the.
14 lmnde. 16 shippes.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. oxvii.] now a ship arrives at the port. 415
rotten, so that ther by the new shyppe was sauyd who
had bene .xx. dayes in tourment in1 the see / so that The new vessel
had met with
the men that were within it were so2 sore trauaylyd and rough weather,
4 faynte for famyne, that they were scanto3 able to sus- and men wer«
exhausted from
tayne themselfe on4 theyr fete. U When Huon sawe want of food,
them aryne all wepynge he complaynyd for them, for
he sawe well they were all lost, and that they shulde
8 neuer departe5 thense / when the shyppe was a ryuyd,
the marchauntis within it callyd vpon Mahound to
ayde6 them / and the raayster of the shyppe stode vp
and wente 7 on londe,7 and lokyd towardis the castell
12 and sawe Huon where he stode lenynge in a wyndowe, They »ee Huon
J ° J 9 at a window of
wherof they had great ioye, thynkynge that they were the cutie,
arryuyd at a good port / supposynge that he that they
sawe there before them had bene the lorde of the
16 castell / by cause he was so marueylous rychely
aparaylyd.8 Then they salutyd Huon in the name of and salute him
r J J J J in the name of
Mahounde theyr god. 1T When Huon hard that he Mahomet,
knew suerlye that they were Sarasyns, and he9 coude
20 very wel 10speke the spanysshe languag, answeryd to the
mayster and said / ' frendis, ye that be here aryuyd /
she we me11 the trouth fro whense ye ar come, and what Huon asks
ye be / for be you9 sure as longe as ye lyue ye shall come!" the/
24 neuer depart5 hense / and without ye haue vytayles
brought with you, ye are 12here yll aryuyd.12 Then the
mayster trymbelynge, sayd / 1 syr, know for trouthe9 1 am The master of the
ship replies that
of13 Spayne, and of 14 the citye of Luysarne, and that15 they are Moors of
28 that 16 be here15 with me ar al marchauntis of Portyngale home from Acre,
and come fro the citye of Acre, and there we chargyd
our shyp with marchaundyse / & we had17 good wynd
till18 we were passyd the stratis of Marrocke, and that
1 on. 2 omitted. 8 scarce. 4 vppon. 6 from.
6 and to succour. 7-7 a shoare. 8 and. 9 that.
10 Fol. ci. col. 1. 11 (I pray you).
12-12 all arrived at an unfortunate place.
13 the countrey. 14 dwelling in. 16 they.
16—16 are come hetber. 17 a niaruayloua. 18 vntill.
Digitized by
416
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxvii.
who hare been
driven from their
couree.
In their storm-
tossed wanderings
they had rescued
the bishop of
Lisbon and his
chaplain from
shipwreck, who
are on board.
The ship is
without food,
and all on board
are starving.
we were nere to our owne countre / 1 then a tourment
and a tempest1 toke vs & draue vs of fro2 our owne
countre, 8 the whiche8 tempest hath 4enduryd this4 .xx.
dayes / 6 so that perforse6 we were feyne8 to abandon 4
our shyp to the7 see and wynd,8 as the shyp wold go
at a venture, and9 at last 10 we aryuyd10 by a great rocke,
and there we cast ancre ; and whyles 11 we laye there we
founde on11 the rocke12 y* bysshop of Lysbone, and 13 his 8
chapelayne18 with hym, who came thether dryuynge on14
a mast of a shyp that had bene perysshed, and9 all15 his
company were16 by 17 the fortune of the17 see. Then the
bysshop and his chapelayne 18 prayed me humbly18 to 12
saue theyr lyues, and to take them in to my shyp, and19
I had 20 pity e of20 them, and ^delyueryd them fro the
daunger,21 & toke them in to my shyp, and gaue them
mete22 and other thynges suche as I had, for they had 16
bene23 dede by famyne and 24 1 had not ^geuen them
mete26 / and yet I thy nke 26 they wyll be dede for famyne
or it be to inorowe at nyght / for26 I haue no more
vytayle, nother for my selfe nor for such as be within 20
my shyp / thus, syr, I haue ^answeryd to your
demaunde / and therefore, 28 syr, I requyre28 you, in
the honour of god & of mahound, to shew me to
whom this castell doth apartayne, and who is lorde 24
*— 1 and then suddenly a great tempest arose and.
8 the coast of. 3-3 a great distance, and this.
*— 4 continewed these. 6-6 past, so extremely that
6 perforce. 7 raging of the. 8 euen. • but.
10- 10 Dv good fortune we chaunced to.
11— ii presently after the we were arriued there we went vp
into. 12 and there we founde.
. 13-13 one 0f hi8 chaplaine8. 14 vpon. u the rest of.
16 drowned. 17-17 misfortune at.
is—is humbly prayed me to haue pite vpon them and.
19 whereuppon. 20-20 compassion on.
a_ 21 (as one verie glad and willing to deliuer them from
that daunger), I. 22 and drinke. 23 almost.
24 yft 26-25 guccoured them.
26 that they will not liue vntill to-morrow at night, for
truly. 87 Fol. ci. col. 2. «-» I desire.
Digitized by
Ca. CXVii.] OP THK CONVERSION OF THB MOORISH SAILORS. 4 IT
therof, and what is the name therof, and of this porte
where as we be aryuydV 'Fronde.' quod Huon, Huon informs
* the matter that
( know for trouthe this castell and porte is the place the ca.tie u hated
by Saracens
4 in the world most hatyd and doughtyd of paynyms
and Sarasyns, and I shall shewe you the cause why /
this castell is set on a rocke of Adamante stonys, because of the
power of the
bo that yf any shyp1 come hether by aduenture2 adamant on
_ , • i . , • which it la
8 can neuer departe8 agayne. For the Adamant is of built,
that nature that it drawethe all wayes to4 hym the
Iron / and therfore any shyp that is naylyd or haue in
it any Iron, and by hap8 come nere this port, by force2
12 shall be constraynyd here to aryue.' when the mar-
chaunt hard Huon / he began sore to wepe, and6 so dyd The newcomers
all the other and sayd / ' syr, we are sore7 abasahyd of distressed,
this8 that ye haue sayde.' 4 Fronde,' quod Huon, ' all
16 that I have sayd is of trouth ; but, syra, yf ye wyll botHoon
promises
byleue me, and to* take on10 you chrystendome, to bring them
and byleue on the faythe of Jesu chryste, and byleue dangerS? they
farmely in hym, you and all suche as be in your wchrietoitj?1
20 shyppe I shall brynge you into suche a place where as
ye shall haue mete and drynke at your pleasure / and
apparell as ryche as ye shall demaunde / & then
I shall shewe you so moche golde and rychesse
24 that ye shall be satysfyed with the beholdynge therof.
Therfore yf ye wyll byleue on11 god12 ye shall haue
all this that I haue sayd before, or elles ye shall
all dye of rage,13 of famyne myserably.' IT when
28 the patron14 harde Huon, he sayde, 'syr, knowe for The master of the
ship U willing to
trouthe it is15 vii yeres paste syn I 18boleuyd fyrste embrace the
of 18 the faythe of our lorde17 Jesu chryst, and, 18syr, I
thanke you of the curteysy that ye 19offerw me ; & fro
1 chance to. 1 it. 8 from hence. 4 vnto. 8 chaunce*
6 lament and. 7 dismayed and. 8 these words*
• omitted. 10 vpon. n vppon.
12 and of his sonne Iesus Christ 18 and. 14 had well*
18 about ld— 18 beleued vpon. 17 and Sauionr.
w FoL ci. back, col. 1. 18~19 haue shewed vnto.
CHARL. ROM, VIII. E B
Digitized by
418
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxviL
Huon bid* him
order hi*
company to
follow hi*
example.
AH are ready to
comply with
their master'*
command.
The bishop of
Lisbon and his
chaplain ascend
hensf orthe I submyt me to the sauegarde of 1 god and
of his 2 mother, the blessyd vyrgyn Mary, & to them I
commende my sowle.'2 when Huon hard that he was
ryght ioyfull, and sayd, 1 frind, go to thy shyp, and 4
moue8 all thy company to byleue on4 Jesu chryste /
and shewe them what parell6 they be in nowe / and
what welthe they shall haue yf they byleue 6on god6 /
and also shewe them what pleasure they shall fynde in 8
this plase / and yf they wyll not thou mayst wel say
that they are come to theyr laste ende shortely / and
the .iL men that thou hast sauyd cause them to com
hether to7 me ' / 'syr,' quod the patron, ' I shall sende 12
them to7 you ' / then he departyd and enteryd in to his
shyp / and there he shewyd his company all that he
had harde of Huon, and8 was commaundyd to shewe9
them / when the marchantis, who were10 paynyms,11 16
harde theyr patron12 in what case & parell they were
in / they answeryd all13 how14 they were redy all15 to
do his pleasure, and to reoeyue chrystendome, wherof the
patron was ryght ioyfull.16 Then the patron sent for ye 20
bysshop and his nephue, who was his chaplayn, &
sayd / 'syrs, in the castell there is a lord who wyll17
that ye18 incontynent go19 a lond, and go to speke with
hym.' when the bysshop harde the patron he rose vp 24
with moch payne from fayntenes, by reason of famyne,
and sayd how14 he wolde gladly fulfyll his commaunde-
ment. Then he and his chapelayne departyd out of
the shyp, and came to the stayres, and mountyd vp to 28
the castell / but they were fayn to reste them by the
waye dyuers tymys20; when they came to7 the gate they
1 almightie. 8-3 sonne Iesus Christ 8 remoue.
4 vppon. 6 and daunger.
e-« vppon almightie god & of his sonne Iesus Christ
7 vnto. 8 what he. 9 say vnto. 10 all. 11 had.
18 declare. 13 all answered. 14 that 16 readie.
14 to heare them say so. 17 prayeth you. M omitted,
19 wil come. 20 and.
Ca. cxviL] op the bishop op libbon and his chaplain. 419
marueylyd greatly of the great beaute and ryche warke
that they sawe there1 / so they 2 came to8 Huon, who
taryed for them at the hall dore. when they came
4 nere to8 hym they humbly aalutyd hym. ' Syrs/ quod
Huon. 'sod saue you.1 I praye you shewe me the Huon qnestione
' ° J 9 them an to their
trouthe of what countre be ye of.' ' Syr/ quod the idetory.
bysshop, 4< syn it please you4 to knowe I shall shew you
8 the trouthe / syr, I was borne in the citye of Burdeaux, The w«hop replies
. that he wu born
and am bysshop therof, & haue bene this .xx. yere / at Bordeaux,
and a deuosyon toke me to go a pylgremage to the holy J^rs^M bishop
sepulture /but god wold not suffer vs so to do; for oftheclty*
12 when we were departyd fro Lysbone, a great wynde & He and hi«
chaplain left
tourment rose vpon our shyppe / the whiche was fayre Liebon on a
and ryche, and well furnysshyd with marchauntis / & and^rT^recked
so by fortune our shyp ran againste a rocke, so that
16 our shyp brast6 all to pecys / 6so that6 all our company
were there7 drownyd, excepte myself e and my chape-
layne, who is my nephue, and so7 we .ii. sauyd our
seines on8 y* maste of our shyp, flotynge on8 the see /
20 and7 so9 by the grace of god / the shyp that is here
beneth aryuyd by fortune at the porte nere to8 the
rocke, and I prayed hym in the honour of god10 to saue
our lyues / and the patron had petye11 of vs, & toke vs The saracene
«i . t.i i i i in 10 i * who are In the
24 ui to his shyp, and dyd as12 moch for vs as thoughe we ehipbeiow .
had bene his bretherne / syr, thus I haue shewyd you
owre aduenture. And, syr, I requyre ye pardon me in
that I so ia8ore Tegarde13 you / but, syr,7 1 shall shewe14
28 the cause whye I do it / me thynke I see before me y* The bishop notes
good duke Seuyn of Burdeaux, who swetely nouryshed of<H^'toDuke
me in my youthe : ye greatly resemble to8 hym, and Bordeaux,
he15 set me to scole to16 Parys, and then he sente me braefactorin his
youth;
1 and. 2 Fol. ci. back, col. 2. 8 vnto.
4-4 seeing it is your pleasure. 6 burst. c and there.
7 omitted, 8 vppon. 9 that.
10 and of his sonne Iesus Christ 11 and conpassion.
w so. stearnly behold. 14 you (quoth he).
16 ge in text. M at.
E £ 2
Digitized by
420 huon op burdeux. [Ca. cxvii.
through the to Rome, to1 our holy father the pope of Rome, to
dnke'i good J r r '
offices he obtained whome I was a kyne, and he dvd me moch good, and2
the tee of Milan. J °
gaue me the bysshoprych of Myllayne. duke Se8uen is
dede / 4& he had .ii. sones, the eldest callyd Huon, & 4
the other Gerrarde / Huon was sent for to paris by kyng
The Wehop knows Charlemayne, & by the way there fel to1 hym a mar-
Huon's features, ^
but he does not ueylous adventure, for he slewe the kynees sone Chariot
recognize him to . * °
bshisbeneflftctor*s in his own defence] not knowynge that it was the 8
kyngys sone, wherfore the kyng banysshed hym6 the
realme of Fraunce, and sent him to the Admerall
Gaudys in Babylon to do his message, and afterward e
he returnyd into Fraunce. And syn he hath had great 12
war re with the emperoure of Almayne / more I can not
saye, and I am6 sory that I know not where he is
He relates how becum, for my father, who was brother to y67 abbote of
his father wss y
brotheMothe Cluney, longe agone norysshed Huon vp in his youth 16
who brought ' or8 his father duke Seuyn dyed / my father dyd teche
Huonup. . . . _ *
him, wherfore I haue great sorowe9 at myne harte that
I knowe not where he is becom synne the peas was
made10 betwene hym and the kyng of fraunce. J when 20
Huon vnderstode11 the bysshop,12 his bind changyd, and
Hoonerabriioss^ embrasyuge hym swetely,15 sayd / 'Syr, ye are my
cosyn : I am Huon who passed the see and went to the
admyrall Gaudys, and I14 slew hym, and led away 24
with me his doughter, the fayre Esclaramonde / who
was maryed to1 me by15 the pope / and I haue left her
in the citye of Bourdeaux in great pouerte,16 besegyd by
the emperour of Almayne / I byleue suerly17 she is 28
taken by this tyme.' when the bysshop hard Huow he
began sore to wepe / and Huon embrasyd and kyssed
hym, and sayd, 'cosyn, ye ar happy to fynde me
here / 18elles shortly ye had been dede ' / ' syr/ quod he, 32
1 vnto. J hee. 8 Fol. oil. ool. 1. 4 God be with him.
6 out of. • right. 1 good. 8 before.
9 and greefe. 10 and concluded. 11 had well heard.
u and vnderstode him. 13 he. M I omitted.
14 our holy Father. 16 and miserie. » that. 18 or.
and declares bis
Digitized by
Ca. cxvii.] how the bishop recognizes huon. 421
4 1 ought greatly to thanke god therof. But, syr, I
requyre you1 gyue me som mete / for I am so sore Thebuhopbege
Hoon to gire him
2famyssbyd that I can scant2 sustayno my selfe on8 food.
4 my fete.' 4< Cosyn,' quod Huon, 'by the grace of god
I shall brynge you to suche a place where as ye shall
haue mete and drynke at your wysshe.' 6 Then Huon
toke him by the hand and brought him into the palays
8 and thrughe the chambres / the bysshop was6 abasahed
to so y# great7 ryches that he saw there. Then they Hoon leadi him
to the oaatie
went downe into the seller / the bysshope beheld the cellar,
maner of euery thyng, and had8 maruayle that none of
12 them that he saw there wolde not speke any word /
he passed by them with Huon, and salutyd them / then
he enteryd into the ryche chambre / where as the table
was redy, and seruantis to gyue them water, and they
16 all .iiL sate downe / 9 then Huon sayde to the bysshop,
1 cosyn, I coniure you by the sacramente that ye haue and warn* him
and his chaplain
reseyuyd / that ye nor your chapelayne be so hardy10 to not to eat of the
rich food there
ete one morsel! of mete yf any of you be in any dedly spread before
20 syn / yf ye be incontynent, confesse you to your chape- they are free from
layne, and he to11 you ; for yf ye do otherwyse ye shal (U*UjBln'
no soner ete one morsell but incontynent ye shall dye.
H when the bysshop12 vnderstode Huon he had
24 great maruayle, and sayd / ' cosyn, by the grace of god I The bishop
declares himself
fele my selfe in good estate18 to abyde dethe14: when I and hie chaplain
departydfro rome, Both I and my nephu were confessed
and assoyled 15 of the pope15 of all our synnes / and syn
28 we enteryd in to the see we haue done18 no synne.'
Then Huon sayd, ' cosyn, syn17 ye be bothe in this case
ye may e ete and drynke at your pleasure 9 / and so they
1 to.
*— 2 punished with hanger and thirst, that I am nee re hand
famished and can scarce.
3 vppon. * Fol. cii. col. 2.
6 pleasure, and such as you will wish for. 0 greatly.
1 omitted. 8 great 9 and. 10 as. n vnto.
u had well heard and. u not 14 for.
tt-tf before and assoyled. 16 committed. 17 seeing that
Digitized by
422
HTJON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxvii.
dyde / Uhey bad nede therof / they all thre were
ry chely seruyd : they had euery thynge as they wysshyd
for / the bysshoppe and his nepheue dyd ete and drynke,
and they were greatly 2abasshyd of the great rychesse 4
that they sawe there / & they were_rauysshyd witb
the swete syngynge of the byrdys, and y* berbes &
flowres that were there spred abrode smellynge so
swetely that they thought themselues in Paradyse / and 8
they had great marnayle to se the seruauntis to seme
them so pesably, but they wold neuer speke one worde /
they wold gladly a demaundyd the cause why / but
Huon had expresly chargyd them5 they shulde make 12
none inquery. Thus passyd theyr dyner in great
ioye / & so4 wasshyd theyr handys and rose vp ; 6then6
the bysshop & his chapelayne sayd grase deuoutly.
Then Huon toke the bysshop by y* hand, and sayde / 16
4 cosyn, 5go we* vp in to the palays, and then ye shal
go downe to7 your shyp / and shew them without they
baptiM um cnw. wyll dye incontynent / let them be chrystenyd, and
dresse vp tubbes with water of the see / and halowe 20
you it/ and chrysten them therin / and I shall come
after you with my sworde and clene armyd / to the
entent that yf they refuse thus to do, I shall stryke of
theyr hedys.' ' Syr,' quod the bysshop, 'I shal do 24
your pleasure.' Then Huon armyd hym,8 and wente
after the bysshop and his nephue downe to the shyp* ;
EiinM, the muter when they came there they founde Elinas the mayster
w^iSdPiu*tSt of them, who had prechyde so moche to10 the Sarasyns 28
sarmotoa but ten. ^ conuerted them all excepte tenne. they
bare hym in hand that they were glade to be chrystenyd /
but theyr thoughtys was11 otherwyse / for they .x. had
concludyd in theyr corages not to renounce y* lawe of 32
» for. * Fol. cii. back, col. 1. * that 4 then.
6 from the Table and. we will go.
1 into. 8 selfe. • and. 10 vnto.
li were.
They eat and
drink at their
pleaeure.
They marvel at
the sumptuous
furniture of the
room,
and at ite sweet
odour* and
sounds.
Huon, after the
meal, bids the
bishop go down
to the ship and
Digitized by
Ca. cxvii.] op the death op the ten hypocrites.
423
macomet1 for to byleue on2 Iesu Chryst / but they were Their hanger u,
however, bo (Treat
content to be chrystenyd, to thenteat that they wold that they content
to baptism,
not dye there for f amyne. when Huon and the bysshop without believing
4 was come to3 them the bysshop 4aayd, 1 Syrs, I requyre ChriatUnitjr*
you all shew me your entewcyon that yf with a good
hart not coloured ye wyll be come chrystenid, and
byleue on the lawe of 8 Iesu chryst, & leue the false and
8 detestable law of mahounde, the which is no thynge
worth.' * syr,' quod they al, ' shortely delyuer vs, for
we 6 rage for famyne, the which so sore ouer presseth
vs,d that we can no longer endure nor suffer it ' / 7 when
12 Huon8 hard them he lawdyd9 our lorde god, and had
great ioye therof ; then7 the bysshoppe and his chape-
layne confessyd them al and assoylyd them,10 and in two
great vesselles he11 chrystenyd them all Then they all After an are
16 cryed vpon Huon, and sayd / ' syr, for the loue of our c^ouffo? food,
lorde god, get12 vs some mete / 'syrs/ quod Huon, 'ye
shall haue incontynente ynow so that ye shall be satys-
fyed.' Then Huon and the bysshop & his chapeleyne
20 all .iii. went into the castell, and chargyd in13 theyr
neckes mete ynowe & brought it to14 the shyp / and
causyd all the marchauntis to syt down / then7 the Meat and wine
mete was set before them / & the wyne powryd out in them in the ca»ue,
24 to cuppes / amonge other sate the .x. Sarasyns, who but the ten who
had received the
had rescyuyd15 chrystendome fayntly and falsely / and rite faieeiy, died
on tasting the
at y* fyrst morsell that they dyd put into theyr mowthes first morsel,
sodaynely they dyed : the other marchauntis, when they
28 saw that, they were greatly abasshyd, and regardyd
eche other, and durst not aproche to towche y9 mete, The rest or the
1 Mahomet. 2 vppon. 3 vnto. 4 Fol. cii. back, col. 2.
6 God the Father, and of his Son our Lord and Sauiour.
6 be so hungrie and thirstie, that we are almost famished,
the which ouerpresses vs so much.
7 and. 8 had well. 9 humbly thanked.
10 of all their sinnes. u omitted. u giue.
m vpon. M into. " the.
16 had thought that they would have all.
424
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxvii
butHuou be not dismayde of1 this; for these .x. men that are
reassures them.
dede dyd baptyse them selues but alonely to sane theyr
lyues, & to haue mete / and not with2 good harte,8 nor
for the lone of 4 god / therfore be not afrayde, ete and 4
drynke at your ease / for ye shall want none8' / when
the other marchauntys vnderstode by Huon how that
•they that dyed were no trew chrysten men they were7
abasshyd / and so fell to theyr mete & drynke / 8 when 8
After the m«j they had eten & dronken at theyr pleasure they rose
the men carry , *
up the merchan- and toke all the ryches that was9 in the shyp, and
(Use In their ship
into the caatie. caryed it vp into the castell / 8 when they came there
they had great ioy and pleasure to beholde the halles 12
and rych chambres that were there : so moch gold
and10 syluer and other ryches they sawe there tJiai
they had therof great maruayle. Then they behelde
the rych beddys and chambres aparaylyd wheras they 16
They are de- myght reste them. 8Then they saw the fayre gardayne
lighted with the
fair aspect or the so pleasaunt and dylectable11 to beholde / 13 the more
i^en an^the regardyd it the fayrer it semed to18 them / the
plase was of lenthe and brede a bowe shote & more. 20
And when the owre cam for sopper / then Huon led
them down into the seller, and after into the14 chambre
where as there was mete and drynke plente / and after
supper they went agayne into y* palays, and laye in 24
the ryche beddys that they founde there redy, and in
the mornynge the bysshope and his chapelayne sange15
masse before Huon and all the other that were there
present / and when they wolde ete they wente to the 28
a happy time plase acustomyd, & there they founde alwayes redy
thSr new abode, euery thynge that they desyryd16 / in the day tyme they
wold be in ye gardayne to sporte them / oftentymes the
bysshop prechyd to18 to them and confessyd them,17 32
1 nor abasshed at. 8 a. 8 conscience. * almightie,
6 nothing, but haue all thinges at your wish.
• Fol. ciii. col. 1. T greatly. 8 and. 8 were.
10 ayd in teat. 11 delightful). " that. 18 vnto.
u rich. 18 did sing, 18 or wisht for. 17 of all their sinnes,
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Ca. cxx.]
HOW HUON SEES A GRIFFIN.
425
Thus they were there1 together the space of a moneth,
in great pleasure and solas. But who so euer had ioye
Huon had none, for his abydynge there greatly anoyed 2
4 hym / 8oftentymes hewolde complayne for his wyfe4 but Huon
Esclaramonde, and for his doughter Claryet, and sayde, wife and
daughter*
'Dame,5 as oftentymys6 as I remembre what daunger I
7haue lefte you in my harte nere departeth out of my
8 body / a cursyd emperour, thou causethe me to suffer
moch yll whew I thynke that by this tyme thou haste
taked my citye / my wyfe / and my chylde, and set
them in thy preson / I wold yf it were the pleasure of
12 our lorde god that they were here with me. Then
I wolde neuer departe8 hens : and no more I shal do
without it by the grace of god / A, syr,9 kynge Oberoa, He p»y» for
. * " . n . their safety,
ye haue gyuen me your10 realme of the fayry; yf it and begs oberon
16 might be your pleasure no we 11 to socoure me as to ti^r^a^"*
delyuer me8 hense, and to ayde me to dystroy this emperor*
emperoure who hathe done me so moche yll/ 12
% How Huon was borne by a gryffon out of
20 the castell of the Adamant, and how he
slewe the gryffon and v other yonge gryf-
fons / and of the fountayne / of the fayre
gardayne / & of the frute of the tree nere
24 to the fountayne. Ca. Cxx.
Hub as ye haue harde Huon past13 the
tyme in the castel of the Adamant, and
on14 a daye he lenyd and lokyd out at a
wyndowe into the see warde / and he saw Huon perceive*
a great bird
a farre of a great byrde come flyynge15
1 all. 2 greened. 8 for. 4 the faire Ladie.
8 Madame. 6 often. 7 Fol. oiii. col. 2. 8 from.
• noble. 10 the. n so much.
u for euer were I bound to your Mightiness. u away.
14 vppon. 15 foyyng in text.
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426
HUON* OF BURDEUX.
[Cau CXX.
flying towards
the castle,
which alights
on a ship near
the rock of
adamant.
With its talons
it seizes one of
the ten Saracens
who lately died,
but who were
still whole and
The bird, which
is a griffin, carries
the man up into
the air like a
hawk bearing a
pigeon.
Afar off Haon sees
a crystal rock,
whither the bird
flies,
and he longs to
visit it.
He thinks that
the griffin will
return the next
day for more
prey, and that,
arming himself
securely and
lying among the
dead men, he
might be carried
away by the
griffin.
He resolves to
wait, however,
to see if the bird
returns again.
thetherwarde / this byrd or fowle was bygger then any
hors in the worlde / wherof lie had great maruayle.
Then he saw where it cam to the same porte, and
lyghtyd in1 the maste of a great shyp, and sawe how 4
for2 the weyght of the fowle the mast had nere hand
broke asonder. Then after he sawe the fowle a lyght
downe into the shyp ; and toke with his talantys one
of the .x. men 8 that 4 dyed bycause they wolde not 8
bileue fermely on1 god5 / they coud not putrefye, bat
lay styll in the shype all hole and sounde ; then the
fowle6 lyfte hym vp into the ayre and caryed him
awaye as lyghtly as a hauke wold carry a pegyon. 12
Huon, who saw this, had great maruayle, and behelde
the Gryffon whiche way he dyd flye ; and as far of as
he myght se he sawe to his semylytude a great rocke
as whyght to the syght as Crystall / 7 then he sayd to 16
hymselfe8 ' wold to god 9 1 were there, I thynke it be
some place inhabytable7;' then he thought to10 hym-
selfe to com thether agayne the next daye to se yf the
Gryffon wolde come agayne to f ech his praye : yf he dyd 20
he thought yf he wolde be out of that11 castell, the
gryffon myght bere hym armyd so12 suerly that he
shuld do hym no hurte with his talantis / thinkynge to
lye downe armyd wtt7* his sword in his hande amonge 24
the dede men / and when the Gryffon had brought
him wher his yonge byrdes were / then to fyght vritJi
the Gryffon / yet he thought or13 he wolde thus do he
wolde agayne se yf the Gryffon cam and held the same 28
way as he dyd before / for he thought suerly yf he
retoumyd to the same plase it muste nedys be some
londe / for he thought9 it14 impossyble to get out of
that castell by any other maner of wayes. Then Huon 32
vpon.
2 with. 3 Fol. ciii. back, col. 1.
4 that that in text, 6 and of his sonne Iesu Chriat.
• fowfe in text. 7 and. 8 I. • that. 10 within.
" the.
as. 13 before. 14 were a thing.
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Google
Ga. cxx.] op huon's device to leave the castle.
427
retournyd to the gardayne to the bysshop and to1 the
other companye, and made no semblaunce of that he He say* no word
had thought to do;2 then he talked with them of ©ompanloni? W"
4 dyuerse maters. And when the tyme came they went
to ete and drynke as they had bene acustomyd to do
before, when nyght came and that Huon was in his
bedde he lay and studyed of the conuayaunce of the
8 gryffon / desyrynge greatly for the daylight 8 to go and
se yf the GryfFon returnyd to feche his4 praye / when
day came, Huon rose and harde mas,6 then he went to
the wyndowe and lokyd there so longe that at the laste
12 he sawe a farre of where the Gryffon came flyynge fro the The next day the
griffin returns
same place as he6 hadde done the day before / and came and seizes another
and sate downe on7 the same maste, beholdynge the dede c°rp"e'
men that laye vnder hym,4 whiche of them he6 myght
16 take to his4 pray / Huon beheld hym4 and sawe howe
he* was a ere well fowle. His4 becke8 was maruayl- Huon notices that
the bird Is very
ously greate / his4 eyen as great as a basyn, and more horrible to look
upon.
redder than the mouthe of a fornays/and his4 talantys
20 so great and so longe that ferfull it was to beholde
hym4 / and then at last he8 alyghtyd downe into the
shyp and toke one of the dede men9 in his4 talantis,
and so mountyd into the ayre / and flewe the same
24 way as he8 dyd the day before. Huon behelde hym10
well, and sawe howe11 he8 flewe to the whyght rocke. it flies away to
the crystal rock,
This rocke was callyd the rocke of Alexander / for which is called
the ruck of
when Alexander passyd the desertys of Inde, and Alexander,
28 wente to speke with the trees of the sonne / and of the
mone / he came to1 y* same rocke, and at his returne
he baynyd12 hym in a fountayne nere to the rocke, and
there he tarred a sartayne space and sawe there many because Alexander
once stayed there,
32 thynges. Now let vs leue spekynge of this rocke and
retourne to1 Huon / who fyxed his corage / that he
1 vnto. * and. 3 FoL oiii. back, ool. 2. 4 her.
6 aeruice and. 6 she. 1 vppon. 8 necke.
• bodies. 10 the Griffen. n that 12 bathed.
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428
HUON OP BURDEUX. [Ca. CXX.
Haon reveal*
his plan to the
bUhop and his
company,
who are very
dolorous on
healing him.
The bishop
declares that
Huon seeks his
Haon replies that
his anxious fears
for his wife and
daughter well-
nigh kill him.
Haon is resolved
to carry out his
device,
and is confessed
by the bishop.
determynid to be borne thens by the Gryffon, and
sayde to1 hymselfe that he had rather aduenture dethe
then to abyde any lenger there / for he hadde so2 great
desire to se his wyfe and his child that he put fro hym 4
all fere of dethe.
1T when Huon sawe that the Gryffon was gone with
his8 praye, he went to the 4bysshop and6 his company,
and shewyd6 them all that he had sene and thought to 8
do.6 when they7 harde Huon they began greatly8 to
wepe, and wrange theyr handy s, and9 tare theyr here,
makynge the greatest sorowe10 of11 the worlde, and
cryed out and sayd / 1 a, cosyn,' quod the bysshop, 12
* by y* grace of god ye shall neuer take on 13 you suche
a folye / ye ought not to seke for13 your owne dethe
soner then it is the pleasure of god that your owre be
come ; syr, for goddes sake forsake vs not / but tary 16
here with vs.* ' Frendys,' quod Huon,14 ' I remembre
the daunger that I lefte my wyfe, and my chylde, and
my citye, and lordis, and burgesses, and comunaltye11 /
my harte is so sorowfull15 therof,16 that that it nere 20
hande sleeth me / ye shall abyde here in the sauegarde
of our lord god / and I wyll take the aduenture that
god wyll sende me, and I praye you17 speke no more
to5 me in this mater/18 when they saw19 they coude not 24
tourne Huon fro his enterpryse, the sorow that they
made no man can declare / that nyght they passid
in great sorowe and doloure / tyl20 the next mornynge
that Huon arose. Then he came to the bysshope, and 28
was confessyd and receyuyd 21 his maker21 / then he
dynyd wel with his companye / 6then after22 he went &
armyd hym28 in dobyll armure and with mayle on12 his
1 within. 2 a. 8 her. * Fol C.iiii. ool. 1.
* vnto. • and. 7 all had. 8 pitifully. • did.
10 and greefe. u in. 12 vppon. 13 omitted,
14 when. 16 and so agreeued. 18 thereat 17 to.
18 for, by the grace of god I will venture it. 19 that
20 vntill. a-21 at his hand. 28 dinner. 28 himselfe.
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Ca. CXX.] HOW HUON AWAIT8 THE GRIFFIN'S RETURN. 429
kggys, and helme on1 his hede, and gyrte his sword He anne himself
abought hym, and when ho was redy, and sawe2 it was * s " s
tyme to departe, he toke his leue of the bysshoppe and *nd takes leave of
» M» companloua.
4 of all the other, and commaundyd3 them 4 to 4 god.
when the good bysshoppe saw his departure he made
great sorowe, and so dyde all the other / but none of
them durste speke any more to6 hym / the bysshoppe
8 embrasyd hym at his departynge, and sayde, ' cosyn,
in6 the 7sauegarde of 8 our lorde8 Iesu chryste I
commende you, and that he may of his grace preserue
you fro all your enemyes.' ' Syr/ quod Huow, ' the
12 great desyre that I haue to ayde and socoure her
whome I lefte in great pouertye and dought of her lyfe
constraynethe me thus to departe / for yf I go not by
this m[ea]nes I must euer abyde here, and then 9 shall
16 I false her my promyse / and I wyll kepe my fay the
and* promys. Thus I recommend you to6 god.'10
Then he departyd fro them and passyd out of the gate, Boon pass* oat
of the gate of the
and went downe the stay res and went in to the shyppe, cattle, and down
: the steps, and Into
20 and then he lokyd into the see and sawe where the the ship,
gryffon was comynge / 10 when he parseyued that he laye The griffin
approachea,
downe amonge the ded men withe his sword nakyd in and Hoon ilea
his hande, and helde it on11 his thye by cause it shulde dead men with
24 not fall in6 the see; and as sone as he was layd 8Word dr*wn-
grouelynge12 a mowge the dede men, tho Gryffon came
and 13restyd on a18 shyp maste as he14 was acustomyd
to do / and he14 was so heuy16 that the mast 16 bent nye16
28 asonder. when Huon saw that, he was in great fere, He trembles
and callyd vp on our lorde Iesu chryste for ayde and
1 vppon. 2 that. 8 commended.
4-4 all into the sauegarde of almightie. 6 vnto.
8 to. * Fol. C.iiii. col. 2.
8— 8 almightie god and of his Sonne onr Lord and Sauiour.
8 I shall breake my promise' vnto her, but by the grace
of god I will keape my faithfull.
^ and. 11 vpon. 12 crewling.
alighted vpon the. 14 she. u and so great
ie—16 wa8 neere hand broken.
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430 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. cxx.
socoure, and to saue hym fro y# fell1 Gryffon / & the
Gryffon, lokynge for his2 pray, saw where Huon lay
armyd / wherby he semyd more greatter then any of
the other dede men / the Gryffon desyryd to haue hym I
to his2 nest to gyue hym to3 his2 yonge byrdis / 4 so he4
buttheirriffln cam downe into the shyppe and toke Huon in his8
•etzea him, J rr
and iu ciawt clees, and straynyd hym so faste by bothe sydes that his
pierce hie armour. * *
clees enteryd into the flesshe for all his harnays,5 so 8
Huon raffen great that the blode issued out, and Huon was in that
pain,
and praj
for help.
pain,
and praye to God dystresse that all his body trymbelyd, & petuously he
callyd vpon our lorde god for ayde6 / but he durst not
stere for any payne that he felt, 7 the Gryffon8 bare hym 12
The griffln beam so hye and so far that in lesse then thre owres he9 hare
rock, and, laying hym to ye whyght rocke / and there layde hym downe,
to™rouIuinto and for trauayle that the gryffon had he10 flewe downe
drink. ^e r0cke to a fountayne to drynke / the whiche 16
fountayne was of such great vertue that the bou/itye
therof coude not be descryuyd / and Huon, who lay
on11 the rocke was sore wery for faynt, for the blude
that he had loste / 12 thought in13 hymselfe that yf euer 20
he wolde scape fro that daunger it was tyme for hym14
Huon rieee, to shewe then15 his prowes / then he rose vp and lokyd
and eeee a forest , _ _ _ _ _ .
at hand. rounde abought hym / and sawe howe15 there was nere
hym a fayre foreste / then he prayed8 our lorde god to 24
ayd8 hym to depart17 thens in sauegard, and that
he myght ones18 retourne into his owne countre to se
hys wyfe and chyld, whome he so well louid, then anone
he sawe y* gryffon / who had sene Huon ryse vp ; then 28
Thejrrifflnewoope she came withe her mouthe open to haue deuowryd
down upon him to •
devour hfm, Huon, who19 was repenisshed with hye prowes,1 came
and Huon pre-
paree to defend agaynste the Gryffon who had her pawes redy open to
haue grypyd Huon / 19 who was light and quycke, gaue 32
1 cruel. 2 her. 8 vnto. *— 4 and then she.
6 annour. 6 and succour. T Fol. C.iiii. back, col. 1.
8 did. 9 she did. 10 she. 11 vpon. u he.
13 within. 14 then. 16 omitted. 18 that.
17 from. 18 againe. 10 but he.
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Ca. CXX.] OP THE SLAUGHTER OP THE GRIFFIN^ YOUNG. 431
the Gryffon suche a stroke with his sworde that he He«trik«off
one of the
strake of one of his1 fete by the ioynte, and so the grimv«feet,
gryffon fell to the erth and gaue suche a crye that the ^n rowL °he
4 yonge Gryffons, beynge in theyr neste in the foreste, fnthfifneu!"
harde the crye and knewe wel that it was the voys of
theyr mother / father had they none, for he was slayne
but a lytell before by a kynge of perce with his
8 archers / bycause the Gryffon had slayne the kyngys
horse for mete for his yong.2 Thus when they hard
the crye of theyr mother they rose vp in to the ayre,
they were .v. in noumbre : they came all atons with Five in number,
they attack Huon,
12 open wyngis vpon Huo?* / 8 when he 4sawe them6 all .v.
comynge on6 hym he had great fere / he strake the bat he with great
fyrste on6 the necke7 that he strake of the hede clene them all one
fro the body. Then the seconde seysyd Hucm by the
16 mayle, that yf he had not stryken of his1 legge he had
borne hym vp into the ayre / but Huon gaue hym
suche a stroke that the legge hangyd styll at the lap of
his8 mayle, then8 he toke it of with his hande and
20 caste it to the erthe / and with another stroke he slewe
that Gryffon / 8 Then came the thyrde and gaue Huon
suche a buffet with his wyngis that made Huon to
knele downe on8 one of his knees / Then Huon strake
24 that Gryffon suche a stroke on the wynge / that it fell
clene fro the body. And the fourthe he strake of his
legges / and with another9 strake of his hed, and also
then he slewe the other with the one wynge / then
28 came the fyfthe Gryffon, who was bygger then any of
the other Gryffons / 8 then Huon strake at hym, and
the Gryffon resyd10 vp his fete and spredde abrode his
wyngis, and gaue Huon suche a recountro that the noble
32 knyghte was stryken to the erthe ; when Huon felte
hymselfe hurte and laye on6 the erthe, he callyd vp on
1 her. 1 ones. 8 and. 4 Fol. C.iiii. back, col. 2.
* omitted. 6 vppon. T in such sort 8 the.
9 Btroake. 10 reared.
432
HUON OP BUBDEUX.
[Ca. cxxL
god for ayd1 / for he thought3 he shuld neuer haue
rysen more / & wysshyd hym selfe at that tyme that he
had taried styl in the castell of the Adamante with his
company, who for sorowe that they had when Huon 4
went into the shyppe / they durst not abyde the
comyng of the gryffon / but went and dyd hyde them
selues in the castell. And Huon, who was sore
woundyd withe thys fyfte gryffon, rose vp as well as 8
he myghte / and came to the Gryffon, who was redy to
dystroye hym with his becke and naylys. Then Huon,
lyke a vertuous8 hardyye knyghte4 toke corage, and
lyft vp his sword with bothe his handys, and strake the 12
Gryffon such a stroke on6 the hede that he claue it to
the braynes, so the Gryffon fell downe dede to the
erthe.
% Howe Huon foughte with the great gryffon 16
& slew her. C. c.xxi.
^55^9^^ terryble beastis.8 then he sate downe
to reste hym, and layd his sword by hym, thynkynge
Tthen to be in a suerty7 / but it was not longe but that 24
the great Gryffon, who had brought hym fro the
The old griffln, castel,8 came on6 hym with thre fete, and betynge with
mother of the his wyngis / 9 when she saw her yonge10 slayne, she cast
hlIdii2n!See011 out a great cry so that all the valey range therof / when 28
who i8kweaktfrom Huon sawe her comynge he was in great fere, for he was
sore wery with trauayle and losse of blode that it was
payne to sustayne hymselfe / howbeit he sawe well11 it
Hen Huon saw that he had slayne the
.v. yonge gryffows he thonkyd oure
lorde god for the grase that he had 20
sent hym as to ouercome suche .v.
1 and succour. 8 that
4 Fol. C.v. col. I. 8 vpon.
7— 7 that they had beene all slaine.
8 and. i° ones. 1
8 and a.
u 6 foules.
8 of the Adamant
" that
Digitized by
Co. CXXl\] OP THE DEATH OP THE GRIFFIN. 433
was1 nede to defende hymselfe / 2 then he came to the
Gryffon to haue stryken her, but he coude not, the
gryffon was so nere hym betynge with her wyngis so
4 fersly that Huon fell to the erthe, and his sworde fell
out of his handys, wherof he had great fere / for he Huon fea» that
' he shall be kiiW»U
thought hymselfe in al hys lyfe neuer8 so nere dethe by the monster,
as he was then / he callyd then ryght petuously for
8 ayde4 of our lorde Tesu chryste / and the Gryffon6 bet
hym merueylusly with her beke / wyngis / and talouns /
but the doble6 cotys of mayle that he had on were 7 so
strong that the gryffon coude not breke them / but yf
12 the gryffon had not lost before one of 8 his fete,8 and
loste so moche blod as he9 had done, Huon coude neuer
a scapyd without dethe / the Gryffon so sore defowlyd
and bet hym that he coud not 10 ryse vp.11 Then he
16 rememberyd hym selfe how12 he had by his syde a
rych knyfe, the whyche he brought13 fro the castell of Haondrawea
, , . _ _ . _ , . , . , knife that he had
the Adamant / he drew it out and ther with strake the brought with him
Gryffon on14 the brest .vi. great strokys, euery stroke as and etrikes the*
20 depe as the knyfe wold go / and as his hap16 was this ^oreaat^that
knyfe was of 16 two fote longe,17 and therwith ye Gryffon u di*L
fell downe ded / the;* Huon arose and dy de18 of his helme,
and lyfte vp his handis to19 the17 heuen & thankyd20
24 god of his vyctory / 2 he was21 sore trauaylyd and sore17 Huon u weary
with the fight,
chargyd with blod and swete / 12he dyd18 of his helme,
and behelde round e abought hym, and coude se no
thynge to trowble hym; when he had taryed there a
28 sartayne tyme he rose vp & lokyd downe the rocke,
then2 he sawe a fountayne in a fayre medowe / then he *nd happiij finde
J J ' a dear fountain
went downe and came thether / then2 he sawe the at hand,
fountayne so fayre and clere that he had great maruayle
1 great. * and. 8 neuer after himself e.
4 and succour. 6 did. 6 noble. T Fol. C.v. col. 2.
*-* her Legges. 9 she. 10 in no wise. u againe.
12 that. 13 with him. 14 vpon. u fortune,
w length. 17 omitted, 18 put. 19 vnto.
80 our lord. n so.
CUARL. ROM. VIII. F F
Digitized by
434
White Jasper with
flowers of fine
gold and azure
forma lta
masonry,
and at its bottom
ii gravel of
precious stones.
Huon drinks the
water.
All his wounds
heal at the first
draught,
for the fountain
was the fountain
of youth, which
cures nil
infirmities.
Huon bathes in
the fountain.
At its side grew
an apple-tree,
and Huon tastes
its fruit.
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxxi.
Beyond he sees an
therof / he sawe the masonrye1 therof ryche, all of
whight Iasper wroughte rychely with flowers of fyne
golde and Asure / 2 when he sawe the water so fayre he
hade great desyre to drynke therof / then he dyd of 4
one of his dobyll armure to be the more lyghter, and so
aprochyd to8 the fountayne / and sawe the grauell in
the botome all of presyous stones / 2 then he dyde4 of
his helme and dranke of the water his fyll, and he had 8
no soner dronke therof but incontynent he was hole of
all his woundys, and as fresshe and lusty as he was
when he came fro the castell of the Ada5inant, wherof
he8 thankyd our lorde7 Iesu chryste. This fountayne 12
was callyd the fountayne of youth, the whiche was of
snche vertue that what so euer sykenes a man or
woman had, yf they baynyd them in the streme of that
fountayne they shulde be hole of all infyrmytyes. 16
Then Huon vnarmyd hym and dyd4 of all his clothes,
and bathyd hymselfe in the streme to put away the
blode and swete that his body was colouryd with all /
2 when he was clene wasshyd, then he armyd hym8 20
agayne with one of his harnes,9 and lefte10 the other /
by this fountayne there grewe an appell tree chargyd
with leuys and frute / the fayreste that myght be
founde / when Huon sawe the tree chargyd with so 24
fayre frute he rose on11 his fete and aprochyd to8 the
tree,12 and toke therof a fayre apple and a great, & dyd
ete therof his fyll, for the apple was great / 2 he
thoughte18 he neuer dyd ete before of suche a frute / 28
1 a, good lorde,' quod he, 1 1 ought greatly to laude &
prayse the, synne14 thou haste16 replenysshyd me this
day with such a fountayne and suche frute.' Then he
lokid on11 his ryght hande and sawe a great orcheyarde 32
1 workemanship. a and. 8 vnto. 4 put.
* Fol. C.v. back, col. 1. 6 most humbly. 7 and Saviour.
8 8e!fe. 9 armours. 10 off. u vppon.
12 trre in text. 13 that 14 seeing. 16 thus.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxii.] op the fountain and the fruit of youth.
435
full of trees, berynge good frute of dyuers sortys, that
great beaute it was to beholde them. This gardayne
was so fayre that it semyd rather a paradise then a
4 thyng terrestryalL For out of this gardayne there which out forth
,_iO sweet an odoar
issuyd suche a smell and odoure that Huon thought that Huon tninke
that all the bawline and spy eery of1 the worlde coude andipicesofthe
not cast out so swete a smell. ' A, good lorde,' quod ex^i*^***
8 Huon, ' what place is this that I am in / for yf the neM"
Gryflbn had not bene here I wold haue thought2 I had
bene in paradyse / good lorde,8 ayde and socoure me
4so4 that I be not loste nor dede.'
12 6f How an aungell apery d to6 Huon and
commaundyd hym to gather tare apples of
the tree by the fountayne, and no more;
and how the aungell shewyd hym tidinges
16 of his wyfe7 Esclaramonde, and of his
doughter Clariet / and shewed hym the
waye that he shulde go8 thens. Ca. Cxxii.
Hus as ye haue harde Huon deuysyd
by hymselfe at the fountayne, then he
went agayne to the tre, and sayd Huon declares
howe2 he wolde ete of that frute, and gather enough
gatheryd therof as moche as shulde to^daye;
suffyce hym for .vi dayes / and in
that space he trustyd to come to some place where as
he shulde haue mete suffycyente. Thus as he was
goynge to9 the tre warde,10 sodaynely there aperyd to* but suddenly an
28 hym a lyght shynynge, that he thought he was him, ttppear,
rauysshed in the10 heuen amonge the aungellys / there-
with he harde a voyse angelicall, that sayde / 1 Huon,
1 in. 3 that. 3 God, I pray thee to.
*— * in all mine affaires and enterprizes, and at this time.
* Fol. C.v. back, col 2. 6 vnto. 7 the faire. 8 from.
9 towards. 10 omitted.
F F 2
Digitized by
436
BUON OF BURDEUX.
|Ca. cxxii
and bids him
gather no more
than three
apples.
The fruit U the
fruit of youth :
it can cause a
man of eighty
years to become
as oue of thirty.
Huon promisee to
obey the angel's
will implicitly,
and begs for
news of hie wife
and child.
The angel recites
the story of the
fall of Bordeaux.
knowe for trouthe that our lorde god commaundythe
the not to be so hardy as to gather anye more frute of
that tre / excepte thre apples, the which god is well
content that thou shalte gather, and no more / here 4
after they shal serue the wel / so that thou do kepe
them clenely & worthely as they ought to be kepte / it
shall not be longe or1 thou shalte haue great nede of
them / the frute of this tree is callyd the frute of 8
youthe / it hathe suche vertue that yf a man of .iiii.
score or of a .c. yerys of age do ete therof, he shall
become agayne as yonge as he was at the age of .xxx.
2yeres. In yonder gardayne thou mayst go and 12
gather of the frute there8 at thy pleasure, and ete
what thou lyste. But ete no more of this tre4 that
thou haste eten of,6 therfore beware6 gather no more
therof excepte the sayde thre appelles / knowe for 16
trouthe7 yf thou breke my commaundemente / the
frute shall be derely sold to8 the.' 1 Syr,' quod Huon,
'lawde and prayse be9 to our lorde god my creature,
when he shewethe his grace to8 me that am so pouer a 20
synner, and that he wyll thus vyset me / I shall neuer
consent to breke his commaundemente, I had rather
dye.10 My body and my sowle I recommende to8 his
good grace. But thou, the frende11 of god, I requyre 24
the shewe me howe dothe my wyfe Esclaramonde and
Claryet my doughter, whome I haue lefte in my citye
of Burdeux, besegyd by the Emperoure Therry of
Almayne; I haue great fere that they be famysshyd 28
within the citye, and my lordis and companye that
I lefte there with her slayne and dede.' 'Frynde,'
quod the voyse, ' know for sartayne that the citye of
Burdeux is taken, and all thy men dede or taken, and 32
thy wyfe in pryson in the great toure of Magence,
1 ere. 8 Fol. C.vi. col. 1. 8 there after gather.
4 omitted. 6 and. 0 I charge thee. 7 that.
8 vnto. 0 giuen. 10 then so to doe. 11 Messenger.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxxii.] how huon hears tidings from bordeaux. 437
where as the emperoure Therry kepeth her straytly, &
thy doughter Claryet is at Cluny in ye abbey, wher as
she is wel seruyd / and the abbot, who hathe alwayes
4 louyd the, he hathe her in his kepynge / and she is as
well cherysyd there1 as she were his proper2 doughter.'
' Syr/ quod Huon, ' and whye was she brought thetherl'
' Huon/ quod the voice, ' knowe well that Barnarde thy
8 cosyne garmayne brought her thether.' 1 Frynde/ quod
Huon, ' I praye you3 she we me yf Gerames / 4Othon /
& Ry chard 4 be alyue or not 1 ' ' Fre/id,' quod y* voyce,
'at y* takyng of ye 5citye they were slayne by the
12 Emperour.' when Huon8 harde those petyfull tydyngis
he began tenderly to wepe, complaynynge for7 Esclara- J*J°£JJ£JJ 0?er
monde his wyfe and for the dethe of 8 olde Gerames, and Gemnee,
sayd, ' frynde, I requyre you3 shewe me yf euer I shall and asks whether
** * " * & ha may atcapa
16 scape, consyderynge that I am here closyd in with the from the rock
see, the which goethe rounde a boughte this rocke / and standi.
I se no waye to go out there of / Gladly I wolde knowe
yf euer I shall retourne into my countre to se my wyfe
20 & doughter, who ar in great9 daunger.' 1 Huon,' quod
the voyce / ' comforte thy selfe / then10 shalt thou11 see12 Tha angai rapiiaa
that ha shall ouly
ageyne thy wyfe esclaramond, and thy chylde13 Claryet, rejoin hia wife
and child after
and thy good citye of Burdeaux / but or14 thou15 come ha h« suffered
24 there thou shalte suffer moche payne and be in great
ferew / the emperour Tharry hathe conqueryd all thy
countre and Geronnell is vnder his obeysaunce with the
citye of Burdeaux.' Then Huon sware and made
28 promyse that yf our lorde Iesu chryst wyll17 gyue hym
that8 grace that he maye18 retourne into his2 countre,
that suerly he wolde sle the emperoure Tharry, what so
euer ende come therof. ' Messanger of god, I requyre
32 you3 shewe me by what maner of waye I maye passe
1 euen. 3 owne. 3 to. *— 4 Richard and Othon.
* Fol. C.vi. col. 2. • had well. * the faire. 8 the.
• feare and. 10 thou. 11 omitted. 13 them.
13 Daughter. 14 ero. 16 shalt 10 and danger.
17 would. 18 might.
Digitized by
438 huon of bubdbux. [Ca. cxxiL
The angel bids out of this rocke1* 1 Huon,' quod the voyse, 'go to
Huon gather
thr* applet, the sayde tree and gather the thre apples as I haue
aayde to1 the before, and kepe them well and clenly /
for thou shalte hereafter haue so moche profyghte by 4
them that at the ende thou shalte come to1 thy desyre
and wyll, and shalte be out of thy great payne,
and follow a patu troubyll, & thoughte. Take this lytell pathe that thou
leading to soine
ciearwater, seeste here vpon thy ryghte hande, and so go thou 8
downe to1 the fote of the rocke, and then2 thou shalte
whereashtp fynde a fayre clere water, & theron8 a fayre shyppe,
enter in to it;4 6fyrst go into the gardayne and gather
frute to serue the as long as thou shalt be in the shype / 12
then lose8 the shyppe fro the chayne that it is tyed by /
He is to let the and let the shyppe go whether as it wyll tyll7 it come
•hipgowW Jrr *
ooorat u wiu. to the porte where as thou shalte aryue. But be thou
8 ure or8 thou come there thou shalt be in as great fere 16
as euer thou wert in all 9 thy lyfe dayes,9 nor thou wert
neuer in so great parell / 1 commaunde the10 to the saue-
garde of our lorde Iesu chryste, I go my waye and leue
the here.' Then Huon knelyd downe and held vp his 20
handis, and sayd, 'a, the11 very messenger of god, I
requyre the haue me recommaundyd to1 my creature' /
The angel ' Huon,' quod the voyce, ' be of good comi orte, for as
departs,
bidding Haon long as thou arte trewe and faythef ull thou shalt haue 24
Jesus chriet. ayde and socoure of our lorde13 Iesu Chryst, and shalt
attayne to thy desyres / but or18 thou come therto thou
shalt suffer moche payne and fere. But after, as I
haue sayde, thou shalte haue welthe ynoughe and 28
exalte all thy fryndys.' Huon was glad of that the
voyce had sayd to1 hym / but he was in great dyspleasur
in that his wyfe14 Esclaramond was prysoner in the
citye of Magence, and of the dethe of Gerames and of 32
1 vnto. 2 there. 8 therevppon. 4 but
* Fol C.vi. back, col. 1. • vnloose. T vntill.
8 before. •-• the dayes of thy life. 10 in. u thou.
15 and Sauiour. M ere. 14 the faire.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxii.] how huon pdbsues his journey. 433
other his lordis and seruauntys / and sayd to hymselfe,
'yf he1 maye the emperoure shall derely ahye that
bargayne.' Then Huon went to the gardayne and
4 gatheryd frute to here into the shyppe. 8 Then he weate
to the fountayne, where as the tree of youthe was therby /
and then3 by the commaundement of the Aungell he
gatheryd thre apples / and trussyd them sauely ; and Huon gathers the
8 then he dranke of the fountayne at his pleasure. Then ***** *vpl**'
he departyd and toke the litell pathe, the whiche was He follows the
path, which rune
betwene the gardayne and the streme that 4issuyd out by a stream fau of
precious ftouee.
of the fountayne / the whyche streuie ran and fell into
12 the great ryuer where as the shyppe laye; and when he
was enteryd into this streme he sawe y* goodlyest
presyous stonys that euer he sawe, they were so fayre
and so rych that the value5 coude not be estemyd, the
16 grauell of the streme that issuyd out of the fountayne
were all precyous stonys, and they cast such lyght that
al the mountayne and rocke dyd shyne therof , wherof
Huon had great maruayle. Also he sawe the shyppe it the end of it
20 so fayre that he was therof 8 abasshyd / the ryuer ioynyd garnished ship,
to the ryche gardayne where as Huon had gatheryd
fryte of .xiiiL sortys, the which he put into the
shyppe / 2 then recommaundynge hymselfe to our lord7
24 Iesu chryst he enteryd in to the shyppe, and vntyed and enters
the shyppe fro the chayne, then the shyp departyd fro
that porte / this ryuer was callyd Dyplayre. Thus the
shyp went as faste as thoughe a byrde had flowen. The »hfp passes
28 2 Thus as ye haue harde Huon say lyd al alonge in this dowVaVeat
shyp on8 the ryuer of Dyplayre / ryght desyrous to Dypire.
brynge out of danger his wyfe the fayre9 Esclaramond.
1 I. 2 and. « there. « Fol. C.vi. back, col. 2.
6 of them. 0 greatly dismayed and. T and Sauiour.
8 vppon. 9 Ladie.
Digitized by
440
HUON OF BtJRDKUX.
[Ca. cxxiii.
Hoon't ship
woa richly
bedecked with
gold aud ivory.
A cabin within it
Was roofed with
gold and
precious stones,
which shone
brightly through
the night.
Huon sailed alone
between rocks,
and saw no town
nor human being.
After three days*
journeying,
the rocks shead
appear to dose
above him and
form a dark
passage.
Huon enters the
passage, where all
is black.
The wind rises,
and the nir
grows cold.
% Howe Huon of Burdeaux saylyd in a ryche
shyp, and of the perelous goulfe that he
passed by, and how he aryued at the porte
of the great citye of Thauris in1 Perse. 4
Ca. Cxxiii.
Hus as ye haue hard was Huon2 on
this rych ryuer in his shyp, the
whiche was broderyd with whyght 8
Iuory & naylyd with nayles of fyne
gold / & the fore castell of whyght
crystal medelyd with rych cassydony,
& therin a chainbre, the selynge 8witA sterres of gold 12
& presyous 4 stones / the whiche gauo suche clerenesso
in the darke nyght as thoughe it hadde bene fayre day /
and the bed that Huon laye on2 / there is no humayne
tonge can esteme the vale we therof / therin lay Huon 16
euery nyghte, and in the daye5 abrode in the shyppe /
it was noyf ull6 to hyin for that he was alone without
company / & saylyd euery daye betwene two rockys
without syght of any towne or vyllage, or7 man or 20
woman / when he had bene in this shyppe thre dayes
and thre nyghtis he behelde before hym and sawe howe
y* two rockis began to draw together and to7 couer the
ryuer, and it semyd to8 his syght that the shyppe 24
shulde enter into a darkenes ; howbeit, the ryuer euer
styll kepte his brede / but the nerer he came ye darker
the passage semyd ; and when the shyppe came nere8 it
she went so fast that Huon thoughte9 no byrde in the 28
worlde coud flye so fast / 10 then it began to be sore
blacke and darke, and ye wynde rose, and11 haylyd so ex-
tremely that he thought the shyppe shulde 12perysshe12/
and Huon was so colde that he wyst not how to get 32
1 of. 8 vppon. * wrought. 4 Fol. cvii. col. 1.
* came. 8 yrkesome. 7 omitted, 8 vnto. • that
10 and. 11 it haue perished.
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Ca. cxxiii.] . of huon's new perils. 441
any hete. Then he hard petuous1 voyses spekynge voioet are heard
, J , ; \ cursing their
dyuers languages, cursynge the tyme that euer they w fortune,
were borne. Then he harde thonder and saw lyghtenynge
4 so often / that certaynely he thoughte to3 be perysshed ^^^^•i*!™
and 3 lost 8 Thus Huon was in this shyppe in great
fere of lesynge of his lyfe / 4 when he was hungerid
then he dyd ete of the frute that he had brought
8 thether / then agayne he was comfortyd in that the
aungel had sayd to6 hym that he shuld se againe his
wyfe8 & his doughter Claryet. when he had bene in For three days
all is unchanged,
this case the space of thre dayes he sate downe on7 the
1 2 see bourde of the shyppe / 4 then he harde suche a brute bat at length a
thunderous noise
so great and so hoi^ryble that yf the thonder had fallen u heard of
fro the heuen, and that all the ryuers of* the world had <*Uiug w*Un*
fallen downe fro the rockes / 10coud not haue made so
16 hydeouse anoyse / as the tempest made11 of the Goulfe
the whiche is betwene the see of perse and y* great
see occyan : it was neuer hard that euer any shyp or
galey scapyd that way without perysshynge / when
20 Huon saw hymselfe in that daunger deuoutely he HuonbeHeTes
his end to be
callyd to7 our lorde god, and sayde / 'a, 12 very god,12 near,
_ _ , ,Q _ and prays to OoU
no we I see and parseyue that without 18recouer13 I am for aid.
loste and come to my end / but syn14 it is your pleasure
24 and wyl that I shall perysshe, here I requyre15 your
benyuolent grace to accept my sowle in to your16
handy s.' Huon had no soner spoken those wordy s
but a wynde arose with so great a tempest that 17 Huon a great tempest
28 went17 then suerly to haue bene 18 loste. 18 Then he sawe
comynge agaynst hym great barres of Iron red hote, that and great ban of
fell downe fro walofte19 in to the ryuer before Huon, approach the
in suche wyse20 that when they fell into the water, by *hip*
1 pi ti full. 2 haue bene.
8— 8 and neuer to haue escaped out of that danger. 4 and.
6 vnto. 6 Esclereraond. 7 vppon. 8 Fol. evil. ool. 2.
• in, 10 they. 11 made after Goulfe.
**— 12 good lord. 18—18 thy ayd and succour. 14 seeing.
16 beseech. 16 fauourable. w hee thought.
M cast away. w-1" on high. » sorte.
Digitized by
442 huon of burdeux. [Ca, cxxiiu
but they &n reason of the hete of the barres, trowbelyd so the water
liiMing Into the
river, and do not that ferfull it was to beholde.1 Thus was2 Huon a
touch the YeMeL
great space / or3 he coude passe the Goulfe, the whiche
was so perelous / and the shyppe wente so sore by force 4
of the wynde / so that the shyppe wente out of the
myddes of the streme, and so4 was nere to the lond so
that the shyppe6 coude go no further.
The ship rune % when Huon sawe and parsayuyd that the shyppe 8
ground in live r J * J rr
feet of water. was vpon the grounde, he thought then suerly to haue
bene drownyd. Then he toke an ancre and put it into
the water to knowe how manye fote the water was of
deppenesse. Then8 7 he founde it but v. fote. Then 12
Huon draws the he toke one of his ancres and caste it a londe8 & then
todieap^out. drewe by the corde tyll9 the shyppe came nere to the
banke syde / then he Issued out of the shyppe and
lepte a londe / ethe» he saw sodaynely a bought hym a 16
great clerenes wherof he was10 abasshed, and wyst not
He finds the what to thynke / then he sawe before hym11 all the
precious stones, grauell in the water were medelyd12 w/t/t presyous
them^tou's60 stones / 6 when Huon sawe that / he toke a scope and 20
,hlp' cast into the shyppe so moche of those presyous stonys
they shine as that it gaue as great a light as thoughe .x. torchys hade
torches^ bene brynnynge / so moch of this grauell Huon dyd
cast into the shyppe -that he was wery of laboure / and 24
when he saw the shyp suffycyently chargyd / then he
Huon launches enteryd agayne and drewe vp the ancre, and traueylyd
his vessel again, „
so sore that he broughte agayne the shyppe into the
and travels on in myddis of the streme, then the shyppe went so faste 28
mid stream as
quickly as a that a byrd coud not haue folowid it. Thus he was .x.
hlA dayes or18 he coude passe that Goulfe / 6 thus day and
nyght he say lid, and14 great fere and sore opressyd for
He has no rood 15famyne,15 for he had no thynge to ete16 but frewte, so 32
1 it. 8 was after Huon. 8 before. 4 omitted.
6 was grounded and. 6 And. 7 FoL cvii. back, col. 1 .
8 shoare. 0 vntill. 10 greatly dismayed and. 11 that.
12 mingled. 13 before. 14 with.
u— M through hunger and thirst. 18 nor driuke.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxiii] how huon arrives at tauris.
443
that therby he was waxed so feble that he coud scant;1 butthefrnithe
sustayne hymselfe on2 his fete / and on* the .xL daye theangei't
at the sonne rysynge he sawe apere the clerenes of the
4 day lyght, and then he was out of the darkenes At length ths
J perilous gulf Is
& enteryd into the see of perse, the whiche was so passed and tn«
sea of Persia
plesaunt and peasable that great pleasure it was to entered,
beholde it / 3 then y* son rose and spred abrode his
8 stremis4 vpon the see, wherof Huon was so ioyfull / as
thoughe he had neuer felt payne nor fere. Then a fare
of before hym5 he sawe apere a6 great citye / and in a great city comee
the hauen ther of there were so many shyppes and with aiarg^ °*
12 galyes that theyr mastys semyd to be a great 7 forest, Jh^"^0'
wherof Huon had such ioy at his harte that he knelid
downe lyftynge vp his handis to8 the9 heuen,10 thank-
ynge our lorde god that he hadde sauyd hym fro this
16 perelous Goulfe. This citye was called y* great citye it was ths city
of Thauris in Perse /and11 lorde therof was a pusaunte PersisT**0
admyrall/ who had made to be cryed12 and puplysshed /
that all maner of marchauntys by londe or by see that *"d the admiral
^ of the city
20 wolde come to his citye shulde haue free goynge and allowed ships of
free comynge without let or disturbaunce other in the13 tarry in his port,
bodyes or goodys, whether they were chrysten men or
Sarasyns / so that yf they lost the worthe of a peny
24 they shuld haue agayne .iiiL 14for it14 / and the same
tyme that Huon came and aryuyd at that porte was the
daye of theyr free feaste / wherfore there was so
moche people of dyuers landys that they coude not
28 well be nomberjd / when Huon was come into the
porte he caste his ancre nere to8 the land15 syde, and Huon easts
was ryght ioyfull when he saw18 that he was on2 the lends.'
ferme londe. 8 Then he had great desyre to know in
1 scarce. 2 vppon. 8 and. 4 and spheares.
6 appear before him after sawe. 6 faire.
7 Fol. cvii. back, col. 2. 8 vnto. • omitted.
10 and humbly. 11 the. 12 proclaimed. 13 their.
11-14 times the value thereof. 15 banke.
18 himself.
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Google
444
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxxW,
Barnard de-
livered Huon's
daughter Clariot
to the good abbot
of Quay,
and tarried with
him eight days.
The faithful
knight laments
the misjbrtunes
of his lord and
his lord's wife.
what plase he was aryued in.1 Now 2leue we2 spekiwg
of 8 Huon tyll tyme shall be to retourne therto8 agayne.
% Howe syr Barnarde departyd fro the abbey
of Cluny and went to seke for Huon his 4
cosyn, whom he founde at the porte of the
great citye of Thauris. Ca. C.xxiiii.
e haue hard here before how after the
takyng of Burdeaux, Barnard, who was 8
cosyn to5 Huon, had borne Clariet,
Huons chylde, in to Burgoyne, and
delyueryd her to be kepte witA y0
good abbot of Cluny. After that Barnarde had taryed 12
there the space of .viii. dayes he was wery6 there, and
on7 a daye he sayd to6 the abbot, 'A, Syr, I wold at
the takynge of Burdeaux I had bene slayne with my
cosyn Gerames, for when I remembre my good lord 16
Huon, my hart fayleth me in suche wyse that it is
great payne for me to bere the sorowe that I endure /
and after8 when I remembre the duches Esclaramonde
his wyfe, who endurethe suche mesery that it is petye 20
to thynke therof, dowbeleth 9 my sorowe.9 Alas, what
shall Huon say yf he retourne and fynd his citye
taken, his men taken and dystroyed / and his wyfe in
prysone in great 10myserye and pouertye ;10 I fere me11 24
he shall12 dye for sorowe. Alas, I se all that I haue
is loste for the loue of Hu13on my lorde / for the whiche
I care lytel for, yf he be in sauetye alyue, and that he
may retourne agayne / & I am in great dyspleasure 28
1 and whether he was arriued at a good Port or no.
*— 2 now lette vs leaue.
*-3 the good duke Huon vntill wee haue occasion to
returne vnto him. 4 Fol. cviii. col. 1.
6 vnto. 6 with being.
vpon.
8 afterward.
9- 0 the sorowe and grefe that I haue at my heart
10- io pouertie and miserie. 11 that. 12 wyll.
18 Fol. cviii. col. 2.
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Google
Ca. CXxiv.] OP THE TRAVELS OP BARNARD.
445
that we can here no newes of hym neuer1 syn he He longs to know
departyd fro Burdeaux / 1 shall neuer rest as longe as I thefilt*<>fHa0lu
lyue tyll2 I haue founde hym, or harde som sartayne
4 newes of him 1 / ' cosyn/ quod the abbot / ' yf ye wyll The abbot
enoouragee
enter into this enquest ye shuld do me great pleasure, Barnard to seek
and for the great desyre that I haue had that ye shuld
do3 this vyage, I wyll gyue you a thousande florences
8 towardes youre Iorneye.' ' Syr/ quod Barnarde, ' I
thanke you.' Then the abbot delyueryd hym the
money, and Barnarde made hym redy to departe the
nexte daye / and so he dyd, and toke leue of the abbot
12 and departyd, & rested not tyll2 he came to Venys /
wher as he founde Galeyes redy to go to the holy
sepulture, wherof he was4 ioyful; and so say lyd forth Barnard mu out
tyll 2 they came to porte Iaffe, where as he wente a *"d retche8 Jaflk*
16 londe5 with other pylgremes / and euer as he passyd and travelling
• i i <w~r * * to otner porte,
by the other portis he euer demaundyd for Huon / but make* inquiry of
he coude neuer fynde any man that coude shewe to6 ^"k^7*10*
hym any maner of newes of hym, 7 Then be departyd
20 fro8 porte Iaffe and wente to6 Ierusalem, where as he At Jerusalem he
t&rrlee eight days,
taryed .viii. dayes. Then when he had done his
pylgrymage he toke f orthe his iourney vnto Kayre in and rteiu Cairo
Babylone / and when he came to Gasere, whiche *" B*lvlon'
24 standethe at the enterynge of the desartys,be met witli At oasir he finds
many merchauntes who were goynge to the fre feast ^ttingTut
which was holden in the great citye of Thauris. Then T*u^i,•
he thought to demaunde of them whether so moche
28 people were goyng, and al in one companye / and he
spake to0 a marchaunt of Geanes, & demandid of hym
whether 9so moche people wente together in one
companye / for they were to the nombre of .vi. score
32 marchantischrysten10andhethen. 11 Then the marchante
sayde / 'syr, as me thynke by you ye are of the
1 omitted. 8 vntill. 3 goe. 4 right. * shoare.
6 ?nto. * and. 8 the. 9 Fol. cviii. back, col. 1.
10 men. 11 bee.
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Google
446
huon op burdeux. [Ca. cxxiv.
A free feast,
Harnard learns
from a Genoese
merchant, is to
be jriven at Taunt
to all comers by
land or sea,
Christian or
8aracen.
&arn*rd is
induced to set out
for Tauris.
For eight days
Barnard makes
fruitless search
for Huon in the
city of Tauris.
One day, how-
ever, a very rich
ship in the
harbour attracts
his attention.
countre of Fraunce, I shall shewe you whether we go ;
syr, within this .viii. dayes the ire feste shalbe at the
great citye of Thauris, wher as ther shall come a great
nombre of marchantys as well chrysten1 as Sarasyns, 4
as well by londe as by see / & there is no thynge
in this mortal world but there ye shall fynde it / and
here of al maner of newes / fro all the partyes of y*
worlde. Now I haue shewyd you whether we are 8
goynge, I praye you shewe me whether ye wolde go
and whome ye do seke f or ? ' * Syr/ quod Barnarde,
* know for trouthe I am of the realme of Fraunce, and
I do seke for a knyghte who is lorde of Burdeaux, who2 12
is callyd Huon, and it is long syn I departyd out of my
countre, & I coude neuer here any thyng of his lyfe
nor dethe.' 'Syr/ quod the Genouoys, 'yf euer ye
shall here of hym / yf ye wyll beleue me ye shall go 16
with vs in to the realme of Perce to the fre feste at the
citye of Thaurys.' ' Syr,' quod Barnarde, ' in a good
owre I haue met with you / I shall not leue your
company tyll8 ye come there, to se yf god wyll send 20
me so good a4 fortune to fynde hym that I seke for.'
Then the marchauntis depart6 and rode* to gether
tyll8 they came to7 the8 citye of Thauris / and
when they were logyd / they went a bough te theyr 24
marchandyse where as they lyste / thus Barnarde was
viii. dayes in the citye goynge here & there, euer
enquyrynge newes for that he sought for ; and on9 a
daye he went downe to the porte to7 the see syde 28
where as many shyppes10 laye at ancre, & 11 as he lokyd
abought he saw nere to the see-syde a lytell proper
vessell marueylusly fayre / and the nerer he came12 the
fayrer and rycher it semid / for he saw great clerenes 32
and shynynge within it by reason of the ryche stonys
1 men. 1 and. 8 vntill. 4 omitted. 6 departed.
6 all. 7 vnto. 8 great. 9 vppon.
10 and Galleys. u Fol. cviii. back, col. 2. « vnto it
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Google
Ca. CXXIV.J OF THE MEETING OP HUON AND BARNARD.
447
that were there,1 wherof lie had great maruayle, and
specially by cause he saw within the shyppe but one within it ta one
man clene arrayd / he wyste not what to thynke / but whom he salute*,
4 he thought2 he was chrystenyd ) then he aprocbyd8 know«8him not
to the shyp and saluted Huon, and sayd / * syr, god h^MoST*
gyue you good aduenture, for me thynke ye be a
chrysten man ' / ' f rend,' quod Huon, ' god saue the.
8 Me thynke by thy speche that thou werte borne in the Huon at onee
_ , raoognizaa the
good countre of Fraunce, by reason2 thou spekest speaker to be a
frenche, for I haue great ioy when I here that language bat dwTnot
spoken / and frynde I requyre the4 shew me where haliS!iV'Wh0
12 thou wert borne and what thou sekyste for here I9
'Syr,' quod Barnarde, 'syn6 ye wyll knowe of my
busynes, I shall shew you as he that is ryght sorowefull
and heuy, and lytell shall ye wyn therby when ye do
16 know it ; but syn5 it is your pleasure, I shall shew you
the trouthe. Syr, I was borne in the good citye of Barnard, at
Huon'a reqoeat,
Burdeaux / where as I haue left my howse and relate* the
causes of hla
herytage / to seke for my good lorde, sumtyme lorde of joumejinf .
20 the same citye / and he was callyd duke Huon, who
went fro Burdeaux to seke for some socours whylles the
citye was besegyd / & so it is my lord Huon retournyd
not, nor it can not be knowen where he is becom, and
24 bycause the citye at his departynge was besegyd by the
emperour of almayne, and the citye but yll furnysshyd
with vitayle to mayntayne it longe ; and also it was so Han^twjhe fkii
sore beten with engyns that y* emperour wan the
28 citye parforce / & slew all those that my lorde Huon
had lefte • there excepte ,iii.c, the whiche were taken
presoners by the emperoure and led into the citye
of Magence, with the noble duchesse Esclaramonde,
32 wyfe to7 my8 lorde Huon, and she is kepte in a strayte
prison, where as she vseth9 her dayes myserably, wherof
1 therein. 8 that 8 neere. 4 to. 8 seeing.
• Fol. cix. col. 1. 7 vnto. 8 good.
9 spendeth.
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Google
US huon op burdeux. [Ca. cxxiy.
my harte is in euche sorowe1 that when I remembre 2 it
my hart fayleth me'2 / when Huon had well harde8
Hoon recognise* Barnarde he knewe hym wel : but he had no powre to
Barnard, " *
but •orrow speke any word to4 hym, his harte was so full of 4
overwhelms hlra . .
w> uiat i>e cannot sorowe 1 for that his cosyn Barnarde had shewyd hym,
•peak to him«
and ye chefe6 sorowe was for the trowbyl of his wyfe6
Esclaramonde, who was in7 parell of deth. Thus Huon
was a great space and coude speke no word for sorow,1 8
and wyste not what to do. 8 Also he sawe hys cosy [n] 9
Barnarde, who had taken great payne to serche for
He ween* u be hym / wherby 10 he had suche petye that the terys fell
Hamard'a fwthfui fro his eyen. H when Barnarde behelde11 that the 12
eerrioe*
knyght gaue hym none answere / & saw vnder the
ventayle of his helme the terys of water fell downe fro
his eyen, he was therof so12 abasshid that he wyst not
Barnard, auii what to saye. Then he sayd, 4 syr, me thyn[k]e13 ye ar 16
nt^HwmTaaki a chrysten man / and bycause I se and parseyue in you
heard new* of hu that ye ar a man that hathe bene in many placys and
Unl'9 cuntrees, therfore I desyre you to shewe me yf ye harde
euer any maner of spekinge of my 14 lorde Huon duke of 20'
Burdeaux / whome I haue sought for in many cuntres,
bothe by londe and by se, & I coud neuer here any
sartayne tydynges of him, wherof I am ryght sorry /
for yf I canne here no worde of hym by you I wyll 2i
neuer hope more to haue any knowlege of hym / for15
I thynke I shulde16 haue some knowlege by you yf he
be aliue / for yf I knowe no thynge by you I wyll
neuer 17seke hym further / but I wyll go into som18 28
deserte to4 some solytary place, and there to do penaunce
and to praye to4 god for my good lorde Huon, and to
pardon me of all my 19 offences / and I requyre you in
1 and greefe. *-* them, it neere hand slayeth my heart.
8 and vnderstood. 4 vnto. 6 cheefestof his.
6 the faire Lady. 7 great 8 and. 0 cosyd in text.
10- whereof. 11 saw. 12 dismayed and.
13 thynde in text. M good. u omitted. u shall.
17 Fol. cix. col. 2. 18 a. 18 sinnes and.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxiv.] HOW HUON relates his wanderings.
449
the name of our lorde1 Iesu chryst2 shew me what ye and what is hu
be, and where ye were tome, and fro whence ye come, and whence he
came to Tauris.
that hath brought in your shyppe so great rychesse /
4 for I knowe sartaynly that in all Fraunce can not be He marvels at the
founde the value of so great a3 ryches. Nor the ship. °n*
pusaunte Charlemagne coude neuer assemble together
suche a3 ryches as ye haue in your shyppe.' when
8 Huon harde Barnarde, he sayde / 1 frend, I haue great
maruayle of that I here you saye / for in my shyppe I
know nother golde nor syluer nor none other thynge
but my body and myne armure.' ' Syr,' quod Barnarde,
12 s beware what ye saye / for y* riches that I see in your
shyp, yf ye wyll selle it ye maye fylle agayne your
shyppe with money ; if ye wyll byleue me the treasure
and ryches that ye haue brought in your shyppe, the
16 valur therof can not be estemyd' / when Huon harde
that he had great maruayle, and was ryght ioyful /
then he lokyd downe into the botome of the shyppe Huon had not
and sawe the ryche stonys there lyynge amonge y* !tat toe^leT*
20 grauell, the whiche he neuer toke hede therof4 before / hisshipTr1"*0
for when he dyd caste it in to hys shyp he thought all ^icto^atonea!'
had bene but grauell to balayse his shyp withal that it
myght sayle the more suerlyer. Then Barnarde sayde,
24 ' syr, I pray you hyde it not fro me / wher haue ye had Barnard
this great treasure, and in what countre ? all the stonys quires the place
that be there I knowe the vertue of them all / for syn TbutoedT7 wtr§
I came out of my cuntre I was a hole yere vriih ye
28 beste lapidary and knower of stones that was in all the
6 world / and he taught me his sevens ; syr, suerly the
place wheras ye had them in is of great dygnite.'
Frend/ quod Huo?*, ' I shall shew you the trouth /
32 fortune brought me by the goulfe of Perse, where as I Huon relates
his recent
sufferyd moche payne & troubyll / but thankyd be wanderinga.
god / I scapyd fro that hard aduenture, the force of the
1 and sauiour. 2 to. 3 omitted. 4 of.
* Fol. cix. back, coL 1.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. 0 0
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Google
450
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxxiv.
wynd that cam out of the Goulfe draue my shyppe out
of the stieme / to the lande / and wheu I sawe I was so
nere the londe I went out of the shyp, and toke a
scopet & ther with1 dyd cast in of the grauell2 by the 4
see syde to balayse ther-with8 my shyppe / not knowinge
that any presyous stonys had bene amonge the grauell ;
and when I thought I had caste in sufficient I enteryd
agayne into my shyppe, and so saylyd forthe more 8
suerlyer then I dyd before / there I had these stonys
that be in this shyp, the whiche ye say be of so great
Barnard perceive* value.' 'Syr/ quod Barnard, 'I pray you wherfore
In the ship the
foot oft great serueth yonder fote of a great fowle or beast that I se 12
and aski how it hang yonder in your shyp, I can not tel whether it be
came there. ^ ^ fowle or of a dragon / for it is a ferfull thynge to
beholde.' ' Frynde,' quod Huon, ' anone I shall shewe
you / but fyrste I praye you shewe me what vertue & 1 6
bounte ar in these stonys the whiche ye haue so moche
praysyd / and also to shewe me to4 whome this noble
And he citye partaynethe ? ' 'Syr/ quod Barnard, 'this citye
replies to Haon's
qaestione u to is callyd Thauris, wherof is lorde a ryche admyrall, who 20
government of the is lord of all Perce and of Mede, who when he shall
?hey um£** be aduerteysyd of your coraynge hether, he wyll haue of
you trybute as he hathe of other marchauntis / and as
for your stonyB, two of them that I se yonder, and yf ye 24
gyue them for your trybute he shall be well contente /
and, syr, I shall ayde you in youre mai^chandyse to the
best of my powre / the admyrall is a noble man in his
lawe, and of great credence.' 'Frend,' quod Huon, 28
' I thanke you for the curtesy that ye shew me / but,
syr, I praye you shew me the stones that be of 6 moche
vertue, I wold haue the best layde aparte fro the
other.' when Barnard harde howe Huon desyryd hym 32
Barnard points to shewe the vertue of the stonys / then specyally
precious stones of he shewyd Huon .vi. stonys, and he drewe them out
2 I. a that lay. 9 therwith after shyppe.
4 vii to. * Fol. cix. back, col. 2. 0 bo.
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Google
Ca. CXXV.] HOW BARNARD RECOGNIZES HI8 LORD. 451
fro the reste and layd them vpon Huons shyld, and so greatest value in
" * * his ship.
chase out .xxx. other / and shewyd them all to1 Huon,
and sayd, ' syr, these .xxx. stonys that I haue layd ou*
4 your shyld ar of so great value that there is nother
kynge nor emperoure that can paye the value of them,
and apecyaliy of .v. of them.'8 when Huon harde that
he was ioyfuL Then he wold no longer hyde hymselfe After Barnerd
, , , , _ _ . . hadeurtedthe
8 fro Barnarde, and also by cause of the great hete that he stones, Huon
take* off hit
was in he dyd4 of his helme / the whiche he kepte on helmet,
all that season bycause he wold fyrst know of Barnarde himself!"
some tydyngys or he wold be knowen to1 hym / for he
12 knewe5 Barnard well ynoughe at his fyrste comynge
to1 hym.
% How Huon of Burdeaux and Barnarde his
cosyne knowlegyd theraselues eche to other
16 & shewyd6 theyr aduenture. Ca. C.xxv.
Hen Barnarde sawe Huon do4 of his Bernard recog-
nizes Huon when
helme he becam as ruddy as a rose, he removes iu*
helmet.
and was so rauysshyd that be wiste
not what to save or thynke, and sayde,
' syr, I can not say trewly what ye
be / 7 but ye resemble so8 lyke Huon, whem I seke for
that I can not tel whether ye be he or not.' ' Cosyn/
24 quod Huon, ' come hether to1 me and embrace me, I
am he whome ye do seke for, / so they embracyd eche
other in suche wyse that of a longe space they coude
not speke one to another / at laste Huon sayd, 1 my
28 ryght dere cosyn, I praye you shewe1 me all the newes Hnon inquires
anxiously for
that ye knowe of Burdeaux syn my departynge.' ' Syr,' news from
v Bordeaux.
quod Barnard, 1 1 shall shew you that I wolde fayne
knowe my selfe, but fyrst, syr, I praye you shew1 me Bernard be?*
32 the aduentures that ye haue had syn my9 departynge
1 vnto. 2 vppon. 8 and. 4 put * his coozen.
6 the discourse of. 7 Fol. ex. col. 1. 8 much.
9 your.
G 0 2
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452
HUON OF BURDECX [C*. CXXV.
Haon'i Ad-
ventures li> tli«
East,
and the Vnlght
relate* them.
fro Burdeaux.' 1 Cosyn,' quod Huon, 'yf I wolde1
she we you all the aduentures and fortunes that I haue
had syn my departynge fro you, it shulde* be ouer
long to shew3 it / but breuely I shal declare it4 / when 4
I was in5 the see a6 tempest rose vpon vs, the whiche
enduryd7 ye space of .x. dayes with out scase8' / and
then Huon shewed hym ho we he was in the Goulfe /
and what perel he was in there, & how he spake withe 8
Iudas; and howe he aryuyd at the castell of the
Adamant, and how his company there dyed for9
famyne ; and howe he enteryd into the castell and
slewe the serpente, and shewyd hym of the beaute and 12
aduentures that were in the castell / and howe he was
borne to10 a rocke by a gryffon / and how he slew the
.v. yonge gryffons, and after 11 ye great gryffon whose
fote was in the shyp, the whiche he shewyd to10 syr 16
Barnarde, and declaryd12 of the fountayne and gardayne,
and tree of youth ; and of the shyppe, the whiche they
were in / and howe he founde it by the ryuer / and
how by the voyce of the aungell ho enteryd into the 20
shyppe / and after11 he shewyd what6 payn and parell
he sufferyd in passynge the 13 gulf e of Perse, and how
he was parforce dreuyn a londe,14 and there he cast in
ye stonys, thynkynge it had bene but15 grauell / and 24
how he was as then come and aryued at the great citye
of Tauris in Perce.
U when Barnarde had well harde16 Huon, he
enbracyd hym and sayd, 1 a ryght17 vertuous knyght to 28
whome in prowes and hardynes none can be comparyd /
of your comynge I ought to be ioyfull, &18 thanke19 god
of the grace that he hathe sent you 1 / * cosyn,20 ' quod
1 should. 8 would. 3 rehearse. 4 vnto you.
6 vppon. 6 great 7 continued. 8 ceasing. 9 by.
10 vnto. 11 afterward. 18 discoursyd.
13 Fol. ex. col. 2. M shoare. 15 omitted.
18 and vnderetood. 17 deare and. 18 L 19 oure lord.
80 syr.
Ca. CXXV.] OF THE PRECIOUS STONES.
453
Huon, 'I ought greatly to thanke our lorde Iesa
Chryst, in that I se you in1 helthe; and howe I praye
you2 shew me wat hathe fallen in the couutre of
4 Burdeaux syn I departyd8 thence.' Then Barnarde, all
wepynge, shewyd hym euery thyng as it had fallen, and JjJJ^^1^*,
shewed to4- Huon the maner how y° good citye of Bordeaux.
Burdeaux was taken, and of the dethe of5 Gerames
8 and his company / and of the takynge of the6 duches7
Esclaramond,8 how the emperour held her in pryson
in the cytye of Magence in great pouerty and
mysery; and of his doughter Claryet, how he had
12 brought her to4 the abbey of Cluny, and set her in
kepynge there with the abbot her cosyn. 1T when
Huon9 vnderstode barnarde, he made great sorowe,10 & Huon grieves
° over hii wife's
sayd, yf god wold ayde11 hym he wolde cause the disasters.
16 emperour to dye an yll12 dethe / ' syr/ quod Barnarde,
' wyll you apease yourselfe ; yf ye haue trust in our
lorde god, desyre his13 ayde and socoure, and let the
whele of fortune ryn / and yf ye do thus, and take it Barnard consoles
him with assor-
20 a14 worth anythynge that is fallen vnto you ye shall «nces that the
J J 6 LordwiUhelp
not fayle, but ye shall com to4 your desyre, / thus with him.
such wordys Barnard apaysyd Huon his cosyn / 8 thus
15 they deuysyd together of dyuers thyngis / 'cosyn,'
24 quod Huon, ' I praye you shew me the vertue of thes
presyous stonys that ye haue layde aparte18 ' / 1 syr,'
quod Barnarde, 'the .v. that lyethe17 by themself Barnard tells of
^ * * the virtues of the
hathe great verlu / this stone is of suche18 vertue that precious stones
° ' in the boat,
28 he that bereth it vpon hym can not be poysonyd / and how one
. _ renders its owner
also it is of suche dygnyte19 that who so euer do bere inminerabie.
it may go & come thrughe fyre without felyng of any
hete thoughe he were in a ^brennynge20 ouen / also yf
1 good. 2 to. 8 from. * vnto. 5 the old.
6 noble. r the faire. 8 and. 9 had well
10 in his heart 11 and helpe. u euilL 13 of him.
u in. 16 FoL ox. back, col. 1. 16 aside from the other.
17 there. 18 great w and wojrth.
1 hot burning.
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454
HUON OF BUR DEUX.
[Ca. CXXV.
Thin one Huon
Uket for bimeelf.
Barnard telle
of the virtue of
another that
preserves ita
owner from all
discomfort and
from old age.
The second stone
Huon also takes.
Barnard tells of
the virtue of a
third stone,
possessing other
marvellous
and of « fourth
which has, among
its many virtues,
that of making
him who holds it
invisible.
a man fell in1 the water hauynge this stone abought
hym2 can not synke nor drowne / syr, this is ye vertue
of this fyrst stone.' Then Huon toke it and kepte it
for hym selfe.3 Then Barnard tok9 vp a nother & 4
sayde / 1 syr, here is a nother stone of suche vertue /
that a man berynge it abought hym can haue no4
hunger / no6 thruste / nor cold, nor shal not wax elder
by semynge nother in body nor vysage / but he shal 8
euer apere8 of the ago of .xxx yerys, nor fastynge
shall not enpayre hym ' / then Huon toke that stone
and put it in1 his bagge, and sayde7 he wolde kepe ye7
stone for hymselfe / 1 well,' quod Barnard, 1 syr, here 12
is another of suche bounte and vertue that he that
bereth it can not be hurto in armys, nor vanquesshyd
by his enemyes, and yf any of his kyn were blynde
and touche8 his eyen with this stone incontynente he 16
shall se agayne / and yf the stone be shewyd to* a
mans eyen he shall incontynent be blynd, and yf a
man be woundyd10 tourne this stone in the wounde,
and incontynent he shol be hole ' / when Huon hard 20
that he was11 ioyfull, and sayd that he wolde kepe wel
that stone / 1 syr/ quod Barnarde, 4 here is a nother, the
whiche hathe so great vertue, that yf a man or woman be
nouer so syke, shewe them8 this stone, and incontylsnent 24
they shall be hole of any maner of maladye / and
also yf a man were closyd in pryson in chaynes and
fetters, handys and fete,10 touch them with this stone
and the chaynis shal breke / and also yf a13 man haue 28
any cause to be pledyd in any court before any luge,
be his mater ryghtful or wrongfull, he shal wyn his
cause, whether it be for londis or goodys, and also yf a
man haue this stone in his hande and close it, he shall 32
be inuysyble, and may go wher as he lyst, and shal not
1 to. 2 he. 8 and. * neither.
6 aeeme to be. 7 that 8 but. 9 tuw. - <.
11 right u Fol. ex. back, col. 2. 13 any.
* omitted.
» doe but.
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Google
Ca. CXXV.J OP THE MIRACULOUS POWERS OP THE STONES. 455
be sene. As ye shal se the profe ' / for as he had the To prove its
power, Barnard
stone in his hande he closyd it, and incontynent he renders htmteif
Invisible to Uoon.
was inuysyble so that Huon coude not se hym, wherof
4 he was not content, for he feryd lest1 he had lost his Huon think* he
has lost Barnard
cosyn Barnard for euer, and sayd / ' a, good lord, thou forever,
hast geuyn me the grace to fynde my cosyn Barnarde /
who shulde haue kept me company tyll 2 1 had retournyd
8 into myne owne countre, and no we I se well1 1 haue
lost hym ' / when Barnarde harde Huon, he laughed,
and Huon who hard hym / gropyd all abought with
his armes abrode / tyll2 at laste he embrasyd hym, and
12 helde hym fast / and when Barnard felte that he openyd
his hand, and then Huon sawe hym agayne, wherof he buttoHuon'sjoy,
' * Barnard becomes
was8 ioyfull / and blyssyd hym at the vertue of that visible once more,
stone, and toke it and layd it vp amonge the other in ^tw^^T
16 his bagge, and sayde how he wolde kepe that stone 4 for "ton#*
specyallye.4 Thus Barnarde dyd chose out the stonys
one fro another / & there were so many good stonys There are so
many more
that the value of them coud not be estemyd / then he stones, that
20 touroyd vp the botom of the grauell to seke out the no easy matter
best /and 6 there 6 amonge other he dyd chose out a rightly! them
carbouncle / the whiche cast out suche a lyght as ^n^Ti^t *
thoughe two torches had bene lyght / Barnarde toke JjKnita U'*
24 flit and delyueryd it tor Huon, and sayde / 'syr, be8 l^JJ^itto
sure 9 who so euer bere this stone vpon hym / may go
dry fotyd vpon the water as sure as thoughe he were in
a vessell / and also yf a man go in the darke nyght he
28 shall see as well as thoughe he had the lyght of. vL
torches / and yf a man be in batayle, baugynge this
stone on10 hym,11 can not be ouer come nor hurte, nor
his horse wery nor faynte, nor hurte, nor woundyd, /
32 when Huon hard that he smylyd, and toke the stone
J that. 2 vntill. 3 right
4—* especially, because it was of Buch a woonderfull great
vertue.
*-* omitted. 6 Fol. cxi. col. 1. T vnto. r you.
9 that. i° about. 11 he.
Digitized by
456
HUON OF BURDEDX.
[Ca. CXXV.
Saracen raer-
. chants come to
them,
and marvel
greatly at their
rich ship.
They ask to he
allowed to bay
some of the
precious stones,
bat Haon will
eell none till
. the next day.
The newt of the
ship's arrival ia
■pread through
the city,
and the admiral
cornea to
behold it
He salutes Haon
and Barnard,
and demands the
customary
tribute.
and put it1 amonge the other. Thus as they were
deuysynge together there came to2 them dyuers mar-
chauntys, Sarasyns, who with great maruayle behelde
this lytell shyp8 they sawe it so fayre and rych, and so 4
wel garnysshed with precyous stonys / that they thought
al the marchaundyse that was there in the hauen was
not 4 to the4 half e 5 vale we 6 of that they saw there;
then7 they aprochyd to2 the shyp and salutid Huon, and 8
sayd / 4 syrs, is it your pleasure to sell vs any of your
stonys / we are here dyuers marchauntys that wyl be
glad to bye of them8' / ( syra,' quod Huon, 'as for me
as this day I wyll sell none tyll9 to morowe in the 12
mornynge,10 / therwith the marchauntys helde theyr
peas and spake no more; but there cam so many
Sarasyns and paynyms to beholde the shyppe, that
.maruayle it was to be hold them ; so that ye newes 16
therof spred abrode in the citye / & the admyrall was
aduertysed therof / who incontynente, accompanyed
with his lordys, came to the porte syde wher as this
shyppe laye at 4 an 4 ancre. 20
11 when he11 was come thether he behelde the
shyppe, the whiche he thought fayre 12and ryche ; and
how that there was neuer kynge nor emperour that euer
sa we 13 any such, and it shone so clere by reason of the 24
stonys, that the Admyrall and all such as were with
hym thought it had bene the sonne shynynge in the
myddys of the day / then he aprochyd to2 the shyp
and founde there Huon and Barnarde : the admyrall 28
salutyd them, and sayde / 'syrs, it aperethe wel14 ye be
chrysten men / it is conuenyent that ye paye me the
trybute that is coustomyd to be payed in this citye ' /
1 into his bagge amonge the other. 2 vnto. 8 and.
*— 4 omitted. * the. 6 and woorth.
7 then then in text. 8 if yee please. 9 vntill.
10 and then if it plase yee, you shall baue of them.
" the Admiral!. " Fol. cxi. col. 2. " behelde.
M that
Digitized by
Ca. CXXV.] OP THE ADMIRAL OF TAURI8. 457
'syr/ quod Huon, 'it is1 reason and ryght that we
paye you as we ought to do / syr, here be2 two stonys HuongimMm
4 '~ * tero of the
the whiche I gyue you, and I desyre you to take them
4 a3 worthe ' / the Admyrall toke the stonys and behelde
them well, and sayd / 1 frynde, nowe ye maye go and
come into this citye to make your marchaundise at
your pleasure to your most profyght4 / for the gyfte
8 that ye haue geuen me is to me more agreable5 then yf
ye had geuen me y* value of .iiii. of the beste cityes of 6
this countre ' / ryght ioyfull was the admyral for he The admiral is
knewe well the vertue of the stones : one was of suche M^kSo^uje
12 valure7 that the berer therof coude not be poysonyd Ito^whteh can
nor no3 treason coude not be done nor purpensyd,* JJJneH^*many
comynge in the presence of hym that berethe this stone hTgives the
but incontynente the doer shuld fall10 dede / and the S^^^r
16 second11 stone had that vertue and dygnyte that the thed*-
berer therof coud neuer be perysshid by fyre nor
water / nor dystroyed by Iron, for thoughe he were all a
daye 12 in a brynnynge12 furnays he shuld not lese one
20 here of his hede / nor perysshe in the see. * frende,'
quod the admyrall, 4 the courtesye that ye haue done to13
me14 shall be15 rewardyd, I wyll16 that throughe out Ho promttas to
my realme, as well of Perse as of Mede,17 ye shall 18go £ao^traaUnn
24 at your pleasure to sell your marchawdyse ; and no man "peruana1*1**
shall lette nor trouble you / but one thynge I wolde ******
desyre of you to shewe me what aduenture hathe and asks what
strange adventure
brought you hether / and of whens ye be, and of what brought them
hither.
28 countre / and in what place ye haue found thes stones
wherof ye haue so great plente / howe be it I vnder- Th« admiral
, , , / „ , „ knows Mr
stonde your language, wherby I knowe17 ye be frenche- language,
men / longe agone I was in fraunce, and dwelte there,
1 good. 2 is. 8 in. 4 and gaine. 6 acceptable.
6 in all. 7 bountie and dignitie. 8 no no in teat,
8 purposed. 10 downe. 11 other,
tf-u burning in a hot onen or. n vnto. 14 this day.
u well. 16 and oommaund. H that
18 Fol. cxl back, col. 1.
Digitized by
458 huon op uurdeux. [Ca. cxxvi.
for h© hM »«rved and seruyd in the courte of kynge Charlemayne / &
In Charlemagne'* ' . „ , . , , /
court. was neuer knowen / I1 haue* maruayle where - ye haue
founde so many goodly stones / it is nere3 a .C. yerys
syn I was gyrte with a sworde ; but I neuer saw so 4
ryche stones here before.
At the admiral
teemed to be a
man of nobleness,
truth, and
freedom, Huon
tells him at
length all his
adventures.
He tells him his
name and the
place of his
birth,
how he departed
thence two years
back, and how
since that time
he has suffered
much pain and
poverty,
and how he set
out with seven
knights, his
chaplain, and a
clerk.
Contrary winds
came upon them
in their journey-
ing on the high
% How the admerall of Perce dyd great
honoure to4 Huon of Burdeaux, and led
hym into his palays, where as he was 8
receyuyd withe great ioye and myrth.6
Ca. Cxxvi.
Hen Huon of Burdeaux7 vnderstode
the Admerall, he regardyd hym moch / 12
bycause he was a fayre old man, and
semyd to be a noble matt, 1said, 'syr,
bycause I knowe and se aparaunte in
you great noblenes, trouthe, and fredome, I shall she we 16
you at lengthe all myne aduentures without hydynge ir-
ony thynge fro you. Syr, know for trouthe my name is
Huon, and I am8 borne of9 the countre of Fraunce in a
city namyd Burdeaux ; and I departed10 thence abought 20
two yerys past, synne the whiche tyme I haue sufferyd
raoche payne and pouerte. f when I departyd10 thens,
I hadde with me .vii. knyghtys and my chapelayne and
a clarke to seme hym, and we toke our shyppe at 24
Burdeaux, and we say lyd downe the ryuer tyll11 we
come in the mayne see / then the wynde rose 12con-
trarye to12 vs, and so contynuyd a longe space, so that
our patron knew not where he was /l so at the last we 28
came to a porte, where18 we founde many shyppes of
stran[ge] countres / and there we gote vs a newe
patron ; and as shortely as we myghte, we wente forthe
1 and. 2 great
• Fol. cxl back, col. 2.
9 in. 10 from.
8 hand.
* vnto.
pTrTnhad well heard and.
u *vM. w-w against
triumph.
" waa.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxvi.] of huon's adventures. 459
on our Iourney. But when we were comyn agayne
into the hye see, a1 tempest arose so great2 that we8 and a storm mom
lasting for ten
nere hand all perysshyd / this tempeste enduryd .x. days.
4 dayes, so that we were fayne to abandone oure shyppe
to the wynde. And on4 the .xi. daye, we aryuyd on6 On the eleventh
day they arrived
the perelous Gulfe, wher as we founde Iudas, who in the perilous
i , i ti/it i«i * 1 Gulf» *here they
betrayed our lorde0 Iesu chnst : we were then in suche saw jndas,
8 fere that we lokid for nothynge but when we shulde to end their6
perysshe and end our lyfe. But god alwayes his liT6,'
seruauntis and suche at7 byleuethe in [h]is8 holy la we •
wyll euer kepe and preserue them / he sent vs a wynde y* then God iu his
12 which 10draue vs fro that perelous Goulfe, and brought fair wind, which
vs to11 the castell of the Adamant ' / and there he shewyd thence to tiie
the admyrall at lenthe the beautye of that castell, and Adamant,
ho we there aryuyd a shyppe with Sarasyns, who were £u£"
16 robbers12 of the see, and howe they fought together, and of the
also he shew[ed] hym all y6 aduentures of the castell [^JJJJJJJJI,
that he had there, as well of his men that dyed for18 that he and his
" men met mere.
famyn as of them that be lefte there, & also he shewyd14
20 how he came by vetayles. And also he shewed howe Then he teiis how
* he departed, and
he departyd15 thence, and was borne awaye by the was borne away
Gryffon, and howe he strake of one of his16 legges when to^mS?**
he fought with hym,16 after the gryffon had set hym fighting with the
24 on4 the rocke, the whiche legge he shewyd to11 the Sr^e "flu legs,
admyrad[ll] wherof he had17 groat maruayle.18 Then
also he shewyd hym howe he fought with the .v. yong £uEn una how
Gryffons, and slewe them / and also of the olde ^^5^2?
28 Gryffon / and also of the fountayne wherin he baynyd J**1" md %u>«
himself e, and of the f ayre gardayn, and of the tree of J^^J1^ th6
vouth that stode by the fountayne : and of the vertu of fair garden,
J J * and of the tree
the frute therof / and howe he dyd gather therof,1* and of youth by the
' fountain.
He, knowing its
1 great 2 omitted. 8 were. 4 vppon. 6 at virtue, gathered
« and sauiour. 7 as. 8 gis in text. ofthi ^
9 and keepe his commaundements. w Fol. cxii. col. 1.
11 vnto. u Pirats. 13 by. 14 discoursed.
u from. w her. 17 wonderful!. 18 aud.
19 of the same.
Digitized by
460
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[G
a. cxxvi.
but wm forbidden
to take more bj
an angel tent
from God.
However, what
he had already
eaten and drank,
healed the
wounds given
him by the
griffin.
The angel com-
manded him to
gather three of
the apple*,
and showed him
the way from the
rook.
In a fair river
under the side of
the rock, he
found the chip
they were now in,
aud a wind drove
his ship faster
than a bird.
He passed by the
Persian Gulf,
and suffered
torments there
for ten days,
and was thence
driven to the
land where he
found the
precious stones.
He did not then
know their value,
but took them
to balance hie
■hip.
The admiral
marvels greatly
at Hnon's
adventures ;
he has never
heard the like
more wolde haue done but that he was defendyd1 so
to do by an aungell sent fro god / but before I was
conimaundyd 2 the contrary, I dyd ete8 both of the
frute and dranke of ye water of the fountayne, wherby 4
I was4 incontynente6 all 6 hole of6 the great woundea
that the Gryffon had geuen me.7 And, syr,' quod
Huon, ' knowe for trouthe that of this tree I gatheryd
.iii. apples, by the commaundemente of the aungell, and 8
haue kept them suerly / then the aungell shewyd me
the waye howe I shulde go fro that rocke, and vnder
y- rocke syde I founde a8 fayre ryuer, and there I
founde this shyppe that we be nowe in, and enteryd 12
into it. Then there 9 came a wynde10 and draue my
shyppe so faste that a byrde coude not ouertake11 it
Then he ahewyd12 vnto the Admyrall how he passyd
by the goulfe of Perse, & what tourmentis he sufferyd 16
there, and howe he was there .x. dayes, and how he was
dreuen to the londe,13 wher as he founde tnose precyous
stones, 14wenynge to hym it were14 nothyng but grauell,
and15 he purposyd nothyng elles but to balays16 therwith 20
his shyppe, that y* shyp myyht sayle the more suerlyer /
and he sayd, ' syr, god, on 17 horn I18 byleue, so aydyd19
me that I am scaped20 thence in sauegarde.'
IT when the admerall 21 vnderstode Huon / he 24
^maruaylyd greatly,22 for he neuer hard before of so
great ^maruayles,23 and was sore24 abasshyd, and sayd,
4 Frynde, I haue great maruayle of that I haue harde you
say, for it is nere hand .vi. score yere syn I came fyrst 28
in to this worlde / and I neuer harde that euer any man
1 forbidden. 2 to. 8 ete after both. * whole.
6 of. omitted. T when I slewe them. 8 great
• Fol. cxii. col. 2. 10 [quoth he]. u haue ouertaken.
19 discoursed. 13 shoare.
and he thought it had bene. n that
lfl ther therwith in text. 17 vppon. 18 stedfastly.
19 and soooured. 20 from. 81 had well heard and.
had groat maruaile. 23-2s and wonderf ull aduentures.
24 dismayed and.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxvi.] OF the admiral's conversion. 461
scaped alyue out of the Goulfe of Perse / theribre ye Huon's escape
jixii -i 11 i rt i i proves hit trust
maye well saye that the god on1 whowie ye do2 byleue in God, and God's
hathe shewyd that he louis you well, when he hathe lov* f°r hlm*
4 sauyd you out of that perelous Goulfe, your god is
pusaunt, and louethe 8moche them that byleuethe
on hym,3 he is false4 that byleueth not on5 his law /6
when he hath sauyd7 you out of .ii. suche Gulfes, and
8 also fro the castell of the Adamant, fro whense none
can departe, nor neuer dyd, nor J, thynke neuer shall :
and al^o hathe sufferyd you to slee the Gryffons /
suerly ye ought to loue hym that hath geuen you that
12 grace / & fro8 the great maruayles that he hathe done in awe or this
to9 you, I wyll be chrystenyd & receyuo your lawe / o^iwe°Ld
but I fere me yf my lordis and men knewe therof they SmiraHdshes to
wold sle me shortelye, for agaynste them all / 10 1 can not btuea^hu'
16resyste' / 'syr,' quod Huon, 'to the entent that ye l°ni££™L
shuld haue the fermer byleue in our lorde 11 god 11 Iesu hJ^S^14,
chryste, I haue .iii. apples, the whiche hathe such ^^of'ws™
vertue in them that yf ye wyl byleue in our lorde three apples,
* * *i </ and if be eaU it
20 11 god 11 Iesu chryste, I shall eyue you one of them, the believing firmly
" w * in our Lord God
whiche ye shall ete, and incontynent after ye haue Jesus, he win
* > j j straightway
eten it, ye shal become yonge agayne of the age of .xxx. beoome young
yerys, and ye shall be as fayre & as lusty as ye were oTtWrty yew*?*
24 when ye were of that age / there is not so olde a man
nor so crokyd, yf he ete of this frute12 and byleue
farniely13 in our lorde Iesu chryst / but he shall
become14 as lusty as he was of .xxx. yeris/15 ' Fiend,'
28 quod the admyrall, ' yf it be so that by the12 etynge of
this apple, I shal becom 16yong agayne16 as I was
17 uf y* age of 17 .xxx. yerys,15 what so euer come of me
1 vppon. 2 Btedfastly.
8-8 all men that Btedfastly and vnfainedly beleeue in his
holy lawes, and keepe his commaundements and.
* and vntrue. 6 in. 6 but hee loueth you well.
7 deliuered. 8 for. 9 vnto.
10 Fol. cxii. back, col. 1. 11-11 and sauiour.
12 omitted. 18 and vnfainedly. 14 yong and as.
15 of age. lfl~16 as yong and as lusty. 17-17 at.
Digitized by
4C2 HUON OP burdbux. [Ca. cxxvL
Theadmina I wyll be chrystenyd and byleue in y* law of Iesu
contents,
irnd hope* to chryst, the fere of dethe shall not let me to do it, for to
realm to believe longe I haue byleuyd in this false la we1 and detestable
tbes&me. ^ Macomet / for yf I had2 sene nor harde no more 4
then ye haue shewyd,8 I ought yet4 to byleue in your
lawe / and I shall do so moche that I truste I shall
cause all my realme to byleue in the same* / 'syr,'
To this end Huon quod Huon, 'and ye do as ye saye, ye shall be sauyd, 8
bids him eat * t i n i # .
the apple in the and I shall geue you the apple / the whiche ye shal ete
tor^anYmel! in the presence of al your lordis & men. And when
they shall se you wax agayne yonge,6 knowe for trouthe
ye maruayle therof shall cause them to byleue of 6 Iesu 12
chryst, and to renounce theyr false 7macomettis7
The admiral takes lawe'8 / ' frend/ quod the admyrall, 'I byleue well
Huon't advice,
and hand in hand as" ye say o / and I shall vse my selfe after your
•hip.80 6 aduyse* / then the admyrall toke Huon by the hande 16
& wente together out of the shyp ; and Huon lefte
Barnard was left Barnard there to kepe it / moch10 people was come
to keep the ship,
which was visited thether to se the shyp, and 11 also for the great maruayles
by many people. harde fallen to12 Huon; 13 they behelde 20
Huon and had great maruayle of ye honour that y*
admyrall made to12 hym / for he led hym styll by
The admiral led the hand tyll14 he came to his palays; as they passed
Huon to his _
palace. thrugh the citye they were greatly regarded of men of 24
through the dty sondry nasyoTis / for Huon was so fayre15 a knyght16
reg^rdedwith that none coude be founde as then that myght 17 com -
m^Vfnaure*tby pare with hym in beaute17; when Huon was come to
The°admirai the palays18 the admyrall made huon19 great fest and 28
Smu* Huon's chere, and the tables were set vp, & they sate downe to
honour.
1 lawe after detestable. 2 neither. 8 via to me.
4 yet after byleue. 6 yonge before againe.
8 in our Lord. 7-7 and detestable. 8 of Mahomet.
9 that which. 10 many. 11 Fol. cxii. back, col. 2.
12 vnto. 13 and. 14 vntill.
16 in his visage, and so valiaunt. 18 in stature.
17—17 fcee compared vnto him.
18 whereas hee was honourably receiued with great ioy.
*9 him.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxvi.] OP the admiral's TRUST IN CHRIST.
463
diner; of theyr seruyse and metis I wyll make no
longe rehersayle. 1 when diner was done, the admyrall
commauttdyd carpenters to make a great scaffold of Carpenter, wert
commanded to
4 tymber before y* palays / y* which was coueryd with make a scaffold
ryche clothes of gold and sylke, & thether was brought of the palace,
a rych standarde of golde with other thyngys ;2 then he 5° wm doXof
commaundid throughout the citye that all hys8 baro/*s f^wmmand',
8 of his realme that were come thether to4 his f re feste, ^ed^aSX
that they shulde all come to4 hym at an owre apoiwtyd, ^^^^5"
the which they dyd; there cam so many straungers ^"othera"**™
and other that there were mo assembelyd together then beddai-
12 a .C. & .l.M. men. when they were all there together,
thew y* admyrall, holdyng Huon by the hand, mounted J^eadm^rai,
vpon y* rych stage, & dyuere other great lordis wit// by the hand,
mounted upon
hym;2 when they were there the admyrall stode vp the stage,
and tells the lords
16 and sayde with a hye voyce to4 the lordys and to and people in a
the people / 'syrs, ye that be com hether by my ugting^hiiJ1*
cowimaundement, know for trouth / the great loue that mty come to'7
I haue had to4 you and haue / moueth me to saye and eternal MlvaUon'
20 to shew you the waye how that I and all you may
come to eternal saluacyon, for yf we dye in this case
that we be in, we shall all6 be dampnyd and loste by
the false and detestable *way that you and I do hold /
24 therfore I counsayle and praye you for the loue that ye by leaving the
J r J J J law of Mahomet
haue longe borne vnto me, that ye wyl leue7 the lawe and believing in
° Jesos Christ,
of Macomyte and byleue in8 our sauyour and redemer, whose worthiness
. and holiness Is
Iesu chryst, who is worthy and holly, as ye maye se by proved by the
28 the euydente myracles that he hathe shewyd for his worked*fo* Huon.
pouer knyght that ye se here by me/ then the admyral
shewyd to4 the people all the maruaylous aduentures The admiral
J r r J then shows the
that had fallen to4 Huon / that is to saye, how he had people ail the
' marvellous ad*
32 bene at the castel of the Adamante, and how the ventures of Huon,
Gryffon bare9 hym10 thence, whome he slewe, and
1 but 2 and. 3 Lordes and. 4 vnto.
6 all after be. 6 Fol. cxiii. col. 1. T with mo.
8 the Law of. 9 did bear©. 10 from.
Digitized by
Google
464
huon of burdeux. [Ca. cxxvii.
and how
inch thing* could
not have been
without the aid
of Jestu Christ.
H« then tells how
if he firmly
believe in Christ,
the apple of
Huon's gift will
make him young
again.
The people
anftwer thnt if
they see proof of
this, they also
will be christened.
bnt that of such a
miracle they had
never heard.
Huon, right
loyful to learn
that all the lords
«ud people were
willing to believe
in Jesus Christ,
.v. of y* yonge Gryffons; and also of the fountayne
and gardayne, and of the freute of the tree of youthe,
and howe he had passyd the two Gulfes where as he
had taken ye ryche stonys that he had broufgjht1 4
thether / the whiche thyngis coude not haue bene
without the ayde2 of our lorde3 Iesu chryste, and also
he shall shewe before you euydente myracles that Iesu
chryst shall do for me yf I wyll take his lawe / for he 8
seyth to4 me that if I wyll byleue on5 his god, he wyll
make me to ete of such a holy frute, by the which I
shall become agayne but of the age of .xxx. yerys, and
as lusty as I was then6 / & therfore, syrs, yf Iesu 12
chryst wyll do this for me I wyll be chrystenyd* /
then all the people answeryd and sayd / ' syr, yf this
that ye haue sayd come to profe, we7 al be8 content to
be chrystenyd, and to byleue on* ye lawe of Iesu 16
chryst, and to leue the law that we haue long kept /
but we ar hard of byleue that this shall be / for
yf it be so, there was neuer harde of suche a10 myracle.'
% How the emperour, by reason of the apple 20
that Huon gaue hym 11 to eete, he became
of the age of .xxx. yens / wherby he and
all the people of perce and Mede were
chrystenyd, and of the great honoure that 24
the admyrall made to4 Huon. Ca. Cxxvii.
(Hen Huon12 vnderstode ye lordis &1S
people how they were al14 content to
leue theyr law and to byleue of9 Iesu 28
chryst, he was ryght ioyfull, & thankyd
god with all his harte / then Huon i
1 brouhht in text. 2 and helpe. 8 and Sauiour.
* vnto. 6 in,
8 all after be.
** Fol. cxiii. coL 2.
6 at tbat time.
» shall.
vppon.
10 wonderfull.
" hadde well heard and.
14 omitted.
* the.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxxvii.] how the admiral regains his youth.
465
sayde to1 the admyrall / 'syr, ete of the appyll that I teiii the admiral
haue geuyn1 you / and then ye people that be here toe*fctheappl••
assenibelyd shall see what grace our lord god shall
4 send you.' The admyrall toke the apple and began to
ete therof / and as he dyd ete he began to chaung a* he ate, his
coloure / his here and his berde, ye which were whyght, beard waxed
began to chaunge and waxed yelowe / or2 the apple was he^ad'^ihed!11
8 clene eten, he was clene chaungyd, & his beautye and MdW^ngth« »
strenthe as he was wher* he was but of .xxx. yerys of ^£nhiTt7
age. Then generally all the people that were there Then ail the
with one voyce cryed & requyryd to be chrystenyd, that they wished
if*,-, i ii i-r-r . , . tobe christened,
12 wherof the admyrall and Huon were ryght loyfull, whereof the
by cause they saw the good wyll of the people was to were right joyful,
receyue chrystendome / when the admyrall felte hym-
selfe agayne yonge3 the ioye that he had at his harte
16 can4 not be declaryd, the people also were ryghte
ioyfull / the admyrall, who was a goodly prynce, toke
Huon by the hande and sayde / 1 my ryght dere freynde,
blyssyd be the owre that ye came hether for me and
20 my people, ye haue brought vs into the way of
saluasyon and delyueryd vs out of darkenes, therfore I The admiral
wyl fro hensforth that in all my realme ye shall haue share of his
your parte as wel as 5 my selfe, and I wyll6 ye be so
24 obeyed* / then he enbracyd and kyssed Huon mo then and embraces him
.x. tyrays, seyenge / 'frynde, blessyd be the our that
euer ye were borne, and happy was that woman that
bare you in her body 9 / the paynyms and Sarasyns that
28 were there, seynge the great beaute that the admyrall
was of / and also the7 great myracle that they had Having seen the
sene, sayde one to another, how they neuer had hard of
suche a myracle, and how that fro thenceforth they the people declare
J 9 J that all who
32 that wold byleue on8 mahound were acursyd & believe in
Mahomet are
vnhappy / for they sayde9 his byleue / his lawe /l0 his accursed and
1 vnto. ' before. 8 and lusty. 4 could.
6 Fol. oxiii. back, col. 1. 6 and commaund that.
7 woonderfull. 8 vppon. 9 that. 10 and.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. H II
Digitized by
Google
466 HUON OF burdedx. [Ca, cxxvii.
unhappy, doctryne / was of no valour / then they cryed with a
to embrace the hye voyce, 1 0 ryght noble and pusant admyrall /
cilrutendom. desyre that noble man that is there with you, that lie
wyll cause vs to haue1 chrystendome.' And as then in 4
AbUhopof the citye there was a bysshop of Grece who was come
Greene, who wot
in the city m thether m bassade2 to the admyrall fro the eraperour of
consuntine the 3constantyne the noble,3 who, herynge the wyll4 of the
ch^ltenttT1 10 people, was ryght ioyfull / and he cam to5 the admyrall 8
edmirai and hit ftn(j ^ jjuon> amj gayjg / < syr, it shal be no daunger for
you to be chrystenyd / for, syr, I am hero redy to do
Forty great it* Then incontynent there was brought forthe .xl
water were great vessclles full of clere water / the bysshop dyd 12
tSbi*hophai- halow them, and crystenyd the admyrall and gaue6
Ind^ptiied the nvm 7to name7 Huon, bycause Huon was his godfather.
nlmed*h*mdHuon. Then after8 all the lordis & people were chrystenyd and
tord.Tl^pie^ receyuyd the law of our »lorde° Iesu Chryste. when 16
STi^tS*1, thev were aU c^rj'stenyd, the admymll with great
H^n^Seifto tryhu???phe10 retournyd to6 his palays ledyng Huon by
hu palace. the hande.11 great ioye and feast12 was made that day
There was great o j j
joy and feasting \n the citye / and spesyally of the chrysten marchauntis 20
in the dty that J ' J
d«y. that were there, araongo the which there 13 was a13 .xv.
especially among
the chriatian prestes, and they all aydyd the bys14shop to chrysten
and fifteen priests the people / the nombre can16 not be declaryd of the
hadVe'lJed the° men, women and, chyldren that reseyuyd that daye 24
thehpJeopu!hrl,lUn chrystendome / the admyrall beynge in his palays
makynge great ioy and fest12 to10 ye noble duke ITuon
The admiral ten* of burdeaux, sayd to5 hym / ' frynde, well ye ought to
render thanks to render thankynges to our lorde Iesu chrysto, syn17 by 28
Christ, that you these two realraes, that is to saye, Perce and Mode,
Pen"aa\IdMedia are reducyd and brought to5 the chrysten fay the and
brought^ the law> and I wyll18 ye knowe that ye maye well saye that
Christian faith,
1 receiue. 2 ambassage. 8~ 8 Constantinople.
4 and desire. 6 vnto. • named. 7-7 omitted.
8 afterward. Sauiour and Redeemer. 10 and ioy.
11 and. 12 feasting. ,s— 13 were about.
14 Fol. cxiii. back, col. 2. 16 could. • 10 with.
17 seeing. 19 that.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxviii.] op the admiral's proffered rewards to huon. 467
in these two realmes ye maye commaunde1 at your and that he may
demand aught
pleasure without fyndynge any parsone to do or say to that he pleases;
ye contrary of your wyl and pleasure / and to the
4 entent that ye shall suerly byleue what great loue2 I to prove th«
great lore he
bere vnto you, I wyl that myne all only doughter bean him, ti>e
ye shall haue to your wyfe, so that ye be not bound to3 Huonhia
none other; syr, know for trouthe the great desyre ma^iage/pro-
8 that I haue to haue you tary styll here with me lo^ady Vwtfe.0*
mouethe me thus to do / I haue none other eyre but The lady is the
admiral's only
my doughter / wherby after my deth ye shal be lord child, and on his
and heyre of the realmes4 that I holde / and in the riage would make
* _ . iii , . ., „ Huon lord of the
12 meane season I wyll that the moyte of the reuenewe of realms;
thes realmes4 shall be yours, for your company pleaseth admiral offers
me so well6 that I wolde neuer haue you to departe* nTenw* of ehia
hens.' kingdom'
16 % Of the complayntis that Huon made to3
the adinerall of Perse on7 the emperour of
almayne / and of the socours that the
admyrall promysyd to3 Huon. Ca. Cxxviii.
Hen Huon8 vnderstode y* admyral, he Huon replies, that
four years past
sayd, 'syr, knowe for trouthe that it he was married
to a noble lady
is .mi. yerys past syn I was maryed of surpassing .
to3 a noble lady who passeth in beaute that when he
al other that be alyue in thes dayes, it is with great
& when 9 1 remember her all my body and harte now^rouSe h
trymbelethe for sorowe / when I thynke of the trowble / and p0****
dyspleasure / and pouerte that she is in / & therfore,
28 syr, I thanke vou of the great honoure and curtesye and thanks the
J 9 * ° admiral for the
that of youre bountye ye do10 offer me.' 'I praye to3 great honour he
** offers him.
god that he may rewarde yon, Huon,' quod the
admyrall ; ' syn11 it is so that ye haue a wyfe, I hold
1 anything. 2 and affection. 3 vnto.
4 and Dominions. 6 entirely. • from. 7 vppon.
8 had well. • Fol. cxiiii. col. 1. 10 omitted.
11 seeing.
H H 2
Digitized by
468
The admiral
demand* of Haon
why his wife is in
such distress,
and what
Christian prince
is so bold as to
trouble him.
Huon tells how
he left his city of
Bordeaux be-
sieged by the
Emperor of
Germany,
who had taken
the city,
and cast his wife
into prison.
The admiral bids
Huon take
comfort;
he will come to
his aid, and make
war on the
Emperor with all
his forces,
and oblige him
to make full
restitution.
But Huon desires
not to shed
Christian blood,
but to visit the
holy sepulchre,
and then, on
returning to his
own country, to
rescue his wife
from danger.
His wife was
daughter of
Oaudys, the
admiral of
Babylon and
Egypt.
the
huon op burdeux. [Ca. cxxviiL
you well excusyd. But I praye you shew1 me for what
cause youre wyfe is in suche case / or what chrysten
prynce is so hardy2 to trouhyll you or8 do you any
dyspleasure ? 1 4 Syr/ quod Huon, 4 when I came out of 4
my countree I lefte my citye of Burdeaux besegyd by
the emperour of Almayne / who hath taken my citye
and slayne my men, and some4 kepethe in saruage, and
my wyfe set8 in pry son, and there kept in great 8
pouertye and mysery / the whiche when I remembre,
sorowe8 so7 grypethe my harte, that all my membres8
trymbelythe forg dyspleasure' / 'Huon,' quod the
admyral, 4 1 praye you3 leue your sorowe and dys- 12
pleasure and cast it fro you, and take Ioye and comforte /
for by the holy lawe that I haue reseyuyd, I shall so
ayde and socoure you, that the emperoure who hath
done1 you so many dyspleasures, I shall make hym 16
suche warre, that whether he wyl or not,10 the damage
and losse that ye haue had,11 1 shall constrayne hym to
make full restytucyon / for I shal lede with me in your
company such nombre of people, that all the valeys and 20
mountaynes shall be coueryd withe people.'12 'Syr,'
quod Huon, 4 of the curtesye & socours that ye offer me
I humblye thanke you / but yf it please our lorde13
lesu Chryste, who hathe aydyd me out of many 24
parelles / I hope he wyll so ayde me that I shall not
nede to make14 warre and15 to dystroye 16 the chrysten
blode / but, syr, fyrste I wyll17 go to the holy sepulture /
& then I wyll retourne into my countre / and do what 28
I can to get my wyfe out of dauwger and of 15 the
payne that she is in / syr, the wyfe that I haue
weddyd was doughter to the admyrall Gaudys who
helde as then Babylon and all the realme of I^ypte.* 32
Then Huon shewyd hym all the mater howe he came
5 to. * hee.
1 vnto.
6 and greefe
io for.
14 any.
* put.
8 and ioynts. • with.
11 and receiued. 12 them. 18 and Sauiour,
** omitted. 10 Pol. cxiiii. col. 2. 17 shall.
as.
7 sore.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxviii.] how the admiral offers to help huon. 4G9
by the fayre Esclaramonde / wherof the ad my rail was Huon relate* how
sore abasshydde for the great maruaylles that he1 hard thY^**7
Huon declare, and so were al other that harde it, f^^ho heard
4 and sayde one to another, that without that2 Huow J^u/.*"*1
had bene welbelouyd with8 our lord Iesu chryst, he
coud neuer haue scapyd the deth with one of the lefte
aduentures that he had shewyd vnto the admeralL
8 ' Syr/ quod Huon, ' the Emperoure of almayne hath
taken my citye and my wyfe, and destroied my men /
and hathe taken in to his handys all my lordys and
sygnoryes / but by the grace of god I shall do so
12 moche to get them agayne / and yf I can not attayne if Huon cannot
therto, then I shall retourne agayne to4 you to haue tarda and
your socoure and ayde.' 'Huon/ quod the admerall, byule Emperor
* put all melancoly fro you / for yf ye gyue me know- S^IS-onr
16 lege that ye canne not haue your wyl of this Emperour / otih* ■dmirBl«
I shall brynge you people innumerable / that all Then win th*
_ admiral make all
chrystewdome shal trymble for fere of you / and I2 Christendom
shall render to4 you your wyfe and all your londis,6 0f Huon The wiu
20 and your men that be in pryson or in saruage, & wTw"fi°andm
I shall put the Emperour into your handis to do with l^XeVthT
hym youre pleasure, elles I shall not leue in all his EJSe^hewu?
lande neyther citye nor towne standynge vpon the SoVtownetand^7
24erthe.' 'Syr/ quod Huon, 'of this I thanke you Em^?iUmd#
hartely / but, syr, I muste worke another waye fyrste /
for 6 when I scapyd fro the goulfe of Perce I promysyd Huonho
f-r • _ _ _ promised God
to4 god, that or7 I went into m[y]ne8 owne countre to before returning
28 go and vyset the holy sepulture in Ierusalem, and to hoiTipoichre,^*
make warre vpon the sarasyns, or7 I made any warre upontha
vpon any chrysten men / but, syr, yf I may get of the SaraoeM*
emperour by fayre speche my londe and my wyfe, Hehopee^to
32 I shall serue hym with good9 harte : for as long as I and wife from the
J . , * Emperor by fair
leue, I shall make no war against any chrysten man yf ■?
1 hadde. 8 omitted. 8 of. 4 vnto.
* and Signiories. 6 Fol. oxiiii. back, col. 1. 7 before.
8 mone in text. 9 all my.
Digitized by
470
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxxix.
for if right can be
shown him he
desires to make
no war against
Christian man.
The admiral will
go with Uuon to
the holy sepul-
chre, and take
with him 60,000
men to make war
on the Saracens.
Huon tells the
admiral how this
good deed will
cause him to be
crowned in the
empire of heaven.
I may haue ryght and reason shewyd to 1 me ' / ' syr,'
quod the admerall, 'of this that ye say I can2 you
good thanke / but by the grace of god I shall go with
you the vyage to the holy sepulture, and take with me 4
l.M. men to make warre agaynst the paynyms and
sarasyns suche as byleuethe not in god, and I shall put
to my payne with all my powre to exalte and encrease
the law of Iesu chryste.' 1 Syr/ quod Huon, c ye haue 8
sayd nobeyle; yf ye do thus3 great grace and glory
parpetuall ye shall deserue / wherby ye shalbe crownyd
aboue in the imperyall heueyn.' Now leue we to
speke of this mater. 12
The admiral
sends orders
through Persia
for the men of
war to make
ready,
and appoints the
day on which
they are to
embark for the
Holy Land.
All come at the
time assigned.
Meanwhile, Huon
and Barnard
oftentimes visit
the city of Tauris,
% How the admerall of Perse assembelyd
moche people, and he & Huon, with all his
armye, toke the see and came to the port
before the citye of Angory, whereas they 16
fouflde a great nombre of paynyms &
sarasyns redy to defende the porte.
Ca. Cxxix.
Fter that the admerall and Huon had 20
deuysid to gether of many thyngys /
the admerall sent out his letters and
brefes coramaundynge thrugh 4 5 Perse,
°and made6 men of warre to be redy ; 24
and gaue them a day to be redy to
go with hym, sertefyenge them that his nauy of
shyppes shulde be redy for the transportynge of hym
and of 7 them / the whiche was done, and euery man 28
came at the day that was assyngnycL in the mean
season Huon and Barnard wente often tymys together
and vysytyd the citye of Thauris, where as moche
1 vnto.
giue.
6 Fol. cxiiii. back, col. 2.
3 thus do.
and Media.
* out
7 omitted.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. CXxht.] OF THE DEPARTURE FROM TAURIS. 471
honours was made to1 them / wherof Huon and where much
_ honour Is shown
Barnard oftentymya thankyd god of the good ad- them,
uenture that he had sente them. Thus as ye haue
4 harde the admeral of Perce assembelyd 2 great nombre
of people, and made hym redy & enteryd into his
shyp, and all other in to dyuers shyppys, and shyppyd
theyr armure and horsys ;3 Huon, who desyryd to pies Huon, to please
8 the admyrall, toke hys owne lytell shyp and dys- charged his own
chargyd it, and toke all the presyous stonys & dyd put out of it^uhe
them into another shyp, the whiche y* admyrall had ?™pu?th*m^to
delyueryd to serue hym.3 then he sayd to 1 the admyrall, wWch^iSnirai
12 'syr, I know well4 the lytell shyppe that I came in gaV6him*
hether is not to serue in the warre, & therfore, syr, as
it is, I do gyue it1 you' / wherof the admyraH had To the great joy
great ioye, for in al the worlde ther was none such Huon gives mm
16 of beautye nor of ryches. Then Huon gaue the Tot^admtraT*1"
admyrall a busshell of the stones, and to1 the lordys H^on^vesa
together, and they thankyd Huon of his curtesye and pjSJ^ ^iMt
larges / of all the stones he kepte to his owne vse but owTusebut1'*
20 .iii.C., and gaue awaye all the resydewe. Then he {^J^S
enterid into the shyp that was apoyntyd for hym / and Jjj* aPP°inted
then euery man enteryd in to theyr shyppys, the w1{geh*m^r"ke*
whiche were well furnysshyd and vytaylyd6 / then y6
24 admyrall toke* leue of his dough ter, 7&1 8weyed vp The admiral takes
a i i ii ii i town of his
ancres and lyft9 vp the saylys, and they had suche daughter;
i i.i ia .i , - .. , the anchors are
good wynde that a 10 none they were far fro the porte ; weired, the sails
a goodly syght it was to behold the nauy / for at theyr win^drWee ttem
28 departyng, they made such noyse with trompettys 11 and J^^*0™1110
tabours11 & homes that all the see range" therof /
great ioye13 had Huon & Barnarde of the grace that god g00dljr
hadde sent them / so longe they saylyd with14 wynde
32 and sayle, that they enteryd in to the great see oi
1 vnto. 2 a. 3 and. 4 that. 6 for the ware.
• his. T~T who pitifully wept at her Father's departing.
8 then they. 9 hoysed. 10 Fol. cxv. col. 1.
a- ii Drummes. 12 did ring. w and gladnesse.
14 good.
Digitized by
472
HUON OP BURDEUX. [Ca. CXXUC
They enter the
Caspian Sea,
and see afar off
the city of
Angore.
Its admiral was
powerful and
rich,
and, seeing from
one of the towers
of his palace, so
vast a nary
advancing,
wondered greatly.
He knew the
Persian ships by
their banners,
but he saw in the
forecastles
banners of white
with red
He gives orders
that every man
In the city should
arm and prevent
the Christians
from landing.
The noise and
confusion in the
city was so great
that the admiral
of Persia and
Huon, and all
with them, could
hear it.
The admiral sees
they will meet
great resistance
at their landing.
Huon enquires
what people
i the city.
Caspys, & then they saw a fare of a1 cetye stondyng by
the see syd, callyd the citye of Angore, wherin there
was2 an admyral ryght pusaunt and ryche / and the
same tyme he was in one of the3 towres of his palays, 4
4 when he sawe 5 so 5 pusaunt a6 nauey come saylynge7
towardis his citye / he had great maruayle /8 for he
knewe well the shyppis were of Perce by the penons
and baners that he sawe wauynge in0 the shyppys, and 8
on* the other parte he saw in y* toppes and fore-
castelles baners stondynge, all of whyght, and therin
red crosses / then he sayd to10 his lordis that were
abought hym / * syrs, I am greatly11 abasshyd what 12
meanethe yonder great flete : syn12 this citye was won
by Keyngnalte of Mountaban / there came neuer
chrysten man here / and I haue more maruayle to se the
baners and arme of Perce ye which thes chrysten men 16
do bere in0 theyr shyppis ' / then he18 went downe and
puplysshyd in the citye that euery man shuld arme
them and go to the port to defend14 that the chrysten
men shulde not londe there / then the crye and larum 20
began in the citye so great and orryble, withe the
noyse of 18 homes and busyns, trompettis and taboure15 /
so that the noyse of them range vpon the see, so that
the Admyral of Perse, and Huon, and such as were on9 24
the see myght well here them / Then the admyrall sayd
to10 Huon / 'syr, I se16 well17 at 18 our londynge we
shall haue great batayle and resystence ' / 1 syr,' quod
Huon, ' I pray you what people be they that haue that 28
citye in gydynge, and who is lorde therof?' * Syr,'
quod the admyrall, 'knowe for trouthe17 this citye is
« faire. 2 dwelt 8 his. . « and.
*-6 and perceiued such a. 8 omitted. 7 so fast
8 and was sore dismayed and abashed. 9 vppoa
10 vnto, u dismayed and. 18 seeing.
18 the Admirall. 14 it
N-16 Trumpets and Dm mines. Homes, and Basons.
18 and perceiue. 17 that 18 Fol. cxv. ooL 2.
Digitized by
Ca. CXxix.] OP THE ASSAULT ON ANGORE. 473
great and well peopled / they byloue not in god / and The city, says the
° 1 * ' ' admiral of Persia,
a1 .xx. yeris passyd. this citye was wonne by a lorde is great and
. , , Inhabited by
Fraunce callyd Reyngnalte of Mountaban, and he unbelievers;
, , , • twenty years past
4 made it to be chr[y]stenyd ; and then at 1 .vm. yens it was taken by a
after, it was wonne agayne vpon the2 chrysten men by and made
the admyrallis son : the which admyral was lord Suightyears
therof when it was won. And nowe agayne they be all ^^11^."
8 paynyms and Sarasyns as ye maye se vpon the see
syde, they ar redy to abyde for vs and to defende theyr
porte.' * Syr/ quod Huora, * we ought greatly to thanke The admiral and
Hnon determine
our lorde Iesu chryst of this fayre aduenture / when we to take the city
and use it at
12 se before vs the enerayes of our chrysten faythe / & by their pleasure,
the grace of 3 Iesu4 this daye we shall do so moche that
the citye and the inhabytauntis therin shal be in our
handys to vse them at our pleasure ' / ' syr/ quod the
16 admyral /6 'god6 gyue7 grace that it may so be8 / great
grace our lorde god shall do to0 vs, yf we maye wynne
this citye.' Then the admyrall causyd his men to be The men are
armyd / 10 then they sawe halfe a lege fro the citye a and hair a league
20 porte or hauyn / the which was not kept nor defendyd, see a haven
bycause the admyral of Angory wold not Issue out and,fcnded#
farof fro his citye, tyll 11 he sawe what countenaunce
the chrysten men wolde make. Then the admyrall of
24 Perce and Huon auaunsyd them selfe so forwarde, that
they caste out they[r] ancres and launcyd out theyr
botys well garnysshyd with men, archars and crosbowes,
so that they londyd at this porte12 without any daunger. Here they land
28 Then the shyppys drewe to the londe &18vnshyppyd wlthoat dangwr»
thejr armure and horses, & so euery man londyd leaving some to
* u , \, , , guard the shipe.
excepte suche as were sygned14 to kepe the shyppes / They are arranged
10 then euery man leptu on16 theyr horses and ordaynyd ^nntfeTby008'
32 .iii. batayles / the fyrste was led by duke2 Huon, and t^'mSns"1'11
1 about. 2 omitted. 3 our Lord and Sauiour.
4 Christ. 8 I beseech almghtie. 8 to. 7 vs the.
8 be so. 8 vnto. 10 and. 11 vntill.
u in sauegard &. 13 Fol. oxv. back, col. 1. 14 assigned.
18 mounted. 18 vpon.
Digitized by
474
HUON OF iJURDEUX.
[Ca. CXXX.
the second by a
great lord of
Persia, marshal
or the host ;
the third by the
admiral of Persia
himself;
who rode from
rank to rank,
admonishing his
men to do their
duty valiantly.
When the admind
of Angore saw
that the
Christians had
landed,
he divided his
men into four
parlies.
The two hosts
met together with
such force that
the bright sun
waxed dark,
and many a
knight was killed
under the horses'
with hym. xx.M. men of hault and bye corage; tHe
second was led by a great lorde of Perce, who was
marshall of the hoste / the thyrde, gydyd the ad my rail
of Perce / who rode fro rawke to ranke, admonesshynge 4
his men to do theyr deuoure1 valyauntly ; then a soft
pase they drew in batayle toward es the citye.
f How the admerall & Huon toke the porte
and fought with the admyrall of Angorie, 8
and discomfytyd hym, and toke the citye /
and how after2 Huon went in to the
desertys of Abillant to serche aduentures.
Ca. C.xxx. 12
m the admyrall of Angore saw and
parsayuyd that the chrysten men had
taken londe, and were resdy to geue
bataile, and were comynge towardys 16
the citye, he brdaynyd and rengyd
his bataylis, & deuydyd them in4 .iiii. partys, and set
them to be led and gydid by such as he thought best ;
then he auauncyd forwarde and was to the nombre of 20
l.M. men / when these ,ii. hostis saw eche other, there
was none of them but that feryd the dethe / the day
was fayre & clere, & so they aprochyd, and al at a
frusshe5 of0 both partyes dasshed together in suche 24
wyse, that by reason of the powder & dust that rose7
by theyr horses, the sonne that was fayre and bright
waxed darke, and the shote of 8 botho partyes flew so
faste and as thicke as thoughe it had snowed / at theyr 23
fyrste metynge, many sperys were broken, and many a
knyght borne to the erthe, so that they coud neuer
releue8 after, but laye on the ground amonge the horse
fete, and there dyed in doloure / there were manye 32
1 endeauoure. 2 afterward. 8 Fol. cxv. back, col. 2.
4 to. 6 rush.
7 did rise. 8 be releeued.
Digitized by
Ca. CXXX.] OF THE PIGHT BEFORE AND IN ANGORE. 475
horses rynnynge abrode traylynge tbeyr brydels after
them, and theyr maysters lyeng1 in the blude & 2 my re /
great slaughter there was made on3 bothe partyes / and
4 Huon, who went breki/ige y° great presses, where as he
slewe so many paynyms that euery man feryd hym, he
sawe where the admyrall of Angoryes nephue was who
had slayne a christen knyghte /4 they ran eche at other Huon encounters
the nephew of the
8 so freslye,5 that the paynym brake his spere vpon admiral of
Huon ; and Huon faylyd hym not, but gaue hym so An*or*'
marueylous8 a stroke that his spere passed thrughe his and slays him.
body, and so7 fell8 to the erth and dyed / thew Huon
12 ran at another and gaue hym suche a 9 stroke that
10 he persyd10 thrughe his shylde and body / and with
drawynge out of the spere, he fell to the erth, and neuer
relyuyd after / and so the .iii. and .iiii.11 he saruyd in
16 lyke maner, and 12dyd so13 that he slew .viii. or14 his After Huon had
J J alain eight of the
spere brake,4 then he drewe out his good15 sword / & paynims, hi* spear
therwith he dyd suche dedes that it was ferefull to but he did
beholde hym / he cutte legges and armes, and rassyd of with hu good
20 helmes so that none of his enemyes d urate aproche ,word*
nere18 hym / but they fledde before hym. as y6 byrde
dothe before the hauke, he brake asonder the thyke
presses ; he dyd so to be f eryde that his enymyes left
24 hym / for he neuer stroke17 man with a full stroke but
he18 was slayne. Also with hym was Barnarde his Barnard followed
cosyn, who euer folowyd hym & dyd merueylous in worked manreie
armes, for he was a sharp and an eger knyght. 19 Also in th" ****
28 the admyrall of Angory enforsyd hym selfe to do
domage to16 y* christen men / he sawe were the admyrall
of perce was sleynge of his men / and came and ranne The admiral of
An gore attacked
at hym; and the admyrall of perce sawe hym & the admiral of
Penia;
1 dead vppon the erthe. 2 in the. 8 vppon. * and.
6 so fiercely after ran. 6 and so great 7 he.
8 downe. 9 inaruailous. 10— 10 it passed. u more.
12 Fol. cxvi. col. 1. 13 valiantly behaue himselfe.
14 before. 15 omitted. 16 vnto. 1T any.
18 that receiued it 19 And.
Digitized by
476
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxxx*
each bore the
other to earth,
bat they were
separated by their
The force of the
Saracens was so
great that the
admiral of Persia
could not re-
mount, and was
obliged to fight
ou foot.
He was rescue*
by Huon and
Barnard.
Huon kills the
admiral of
Angora,
encounteryd with hym by such force1 that eche of
them bare2 oder to the erth / then q[u]ycly they
releuyd them8 with theyr swerdes in there handes,
wyllynge eche4 of them to slee5 other / y* whiche had 4
bene done in dede, &8 there men had not come and
socouryd them / but theder came so many of 7 bothe
party es that the .iL admyralles had no power on8 them
to towche2 other ; weth great force came theder Paynyms 8
and Sarasyns so that the cristen men coude not
remount vp agayne the admyral of Perce / but was
fayne to fyght a fote / and had bene in great iopa7-dy9
and6 Huon and Barnarde had not come and rescuyd 12
hym ; they came theder hastely when they harde the
showtynge and cryenge that was made aboute the
admyral of Perce / and they brake a brode10 the great
prese of the paynyms. And when they sawe Huon 16
aproche nere11 them they were sore afrayde / 12 they
knewe hym 13 well, and departyd,14 and sperclyd15 a
brode, and durste not abyde / and Huon, seynge ye
admyrall of Perce a fote amonge his enymyes with his 20
swerde valyauntly defondynge hymselfe, whiche shulde
but ly tyl auaylyd yf he had not bene quyckly socowryd /
12 when Huon sawe hym he sayd : '0 ryght pusaunte
Admyral, haue no doute' / then Huon toke a spere out 24
of the handes of a paynyme whome he had slayne / and
there with he ranne at ye admyral of Angory, and gaue18
so horryble17 a stroke that the spere passyd thorowe his
body more then a fote / and so18 fell downe dedde 28
amonge his men / wher of ye Paynyms were sore19
abasshyde when they sawe theyr lorde lye dedde on20
the erth; 12 then Huon quyckly toke the admyralles
1 and puissance. 2 the. 8 selues. 4 both.
6 each. • if. 7 on. 8 one of. 8 and danger.
10 asunder. u vnto. 18 and. 18 Fol. oxvi. col. 2.
14 parted. u spread. 18 him. 17 and so vehement.
18 hee. 18 dismayed and. 20 vppon.
Digitized by
Ca. CXXX.] OF THE VICTORY OP THE PERSIANS. 477
horse by the rayne1 and came to2 the admyral of Perce, andmonnuthe
, „ , , admiral or Persia
■where as he was fyghtynge a fote / and sayd, • syr, on hu riderless
3lcpe on3 this horse, for the paynyms and Sarasyns ar
4 desconfyed ' / c Syr/ quod the admyrall, 1 blyssed be
the oure that4 ye were borne / for by your excellente
prowes I am sawyde and all myn hoste,and haue5 ouei
come myn enemy es, / then the Admyrall mourtfyde on6
8 ye good horse, wherof he was ioyf ul ; and so he and
Huon and Barnarde delte suche strokes among the
Sarasyns / that they were constrayned to fie and turne The Saracens
were forced to
there backes / 7 then they were chassyd by such force flee;
12 that they enteryd in to the citye one with a noder / they re-entered
. J I the city with the
then the christen men slewe the paynymes and Sarasyns, christians in
men, women, and chyldrene, that8 pyte it was to se and the Saracen
men, women, and
them lye dedde on6 heppes in ye stretes / so that the children were
1 6 bloode of them that were slayne, ranne in the strettes to chStSna! *
the horse pastours ; fynally by the hey prowes of Huon
and by the pusaunce of the admyrall of Perce, the
paynyms and Sara9syns were discomfyted in the citye
20 of Angory. when the sleynge was sessyd, and that the
admyrall and Huon sawe how they had ouercome theyr
enemyes / they sessyd sleynge of the pepyll / 7 they
wente in to the temples, tours, & palysses, where in Thoaewhohad
24 many paynyms & Sarasyns were withdrawen / they temples and
1A , palaces, Huon and
were take to vertue,10 promysynge to saue theyr lyues Barnard saved
yf they wolde leue the11 law of Macomyte and byleue to^c^sunedf
in12 Iesu chryst / and so many were chrystenyd, and
28 such as wold not were slayne / when the admyrall and but ir they
J 1 J refused, they
Huon sawe that the citye was become chrystenyd / weresiain.
then th[e]y sette theyr offecyers, prouostis, and bay lyes The victors set
__ officers over
to gouerne the citye, and with them .u.M. persons to the city, and,
32 kepe ye citye. Thus they taryed ther13 .viii. dayes, thVredghTdv*.
1 of the bridle. 2 vnto. 5-3 mount vppon. * euer.
6 vanquished and. 6 vppon. 7 and. 8 great.
9 Fol. cxvi. back, col. 1. 10 mercie.
11 false and detestable. 14 our Sauiour and Redeemer.
13 by the space of.
Digitized by
478
HUON OF BURDEUX
[Ca. CXXX.
made ready to
depart.
They set forth,
leave the Caspian
See,
enter the
Euphrates river,
and tltence pas*
into the great sea.
They coast the
desert of Aby-
lante in bright
weather and a
fresh wind.
Huon and the
admiral talk over
their adventures,
and praise God
for their success.
The admiral has
great desire to see
the Holy City.
Huon hopes to
reach it,
but the chief
object of his
voyage is the
destruction of all
unbelievers.
The travellers
meet with no
adventure for
eight days.
Huon laments the
fate of
Bsclaramonde.
Uhen they made redy to depart, and trussyd & newe
wyttelyd theyr shyppes / 1then they enteryd in to
theyr shyppes,2 trompetes, and3 busyns, & taboura
made4 noyes,1 the mareners weyed vp theyr ancres and 4
hyssed vp theyr sayles, & sayled so longe that5 they
were out of6 great see of caspus, and enteryd in to the
great floude of eufrates / the whiche dissendeth in to
the great see / when they were passed the ryuer / they 8
costydde the desertis of abylante / the sesone was
fayr and clere, and the wynde freshe. Thus7 they
sayled by this great see, the admyrall and Huon stode
at the borde syde of theyr shyppe and deuiysed8 of 12
theyr aduentures, & laudyde9 god of his grace10 that he
had done to11 them. 'Huon,' quod the admyrall,
'great desyre I haue12 to se the holy citye wher our
lord god was crucifyede and layed in sepulture.' 'syr,' 16
quod Huon, ' by y* grace of god we shall ryght well13
come theder, & I hope he shall do11 vs14 greater grace14
as to ayede vs to conquere and to 16dystroye them17 in
our way that byleueth not on our holy law / for that is 20
the chef18 entent of our vyage.' Thus they deuysed
togydder the space of .viii. dayes witftoute fyndynge of
any aduenture ;l so on19 an euewnynge Huon all alone
stode lenynge ouer the shyppe bord / beholding the 24
see, ye which was playne and peasable, then he remem-
bredo y* duches Esclaramonde his wyfe / therewith the
teres fel20 downe his vysage, & sayd, ' a, ryght noble
lady, when I reraembre in21 what22 danger I left you in, 28
and in what pouerte & mysery ye be in,23 I haue no24
membre but that trymblyth for the dysplesure that I
* and. 2 and the. 3 omitted. 4 great. 6 vntill.
6 the. 7 aa. 8 demysed in text 9 praysed.
10 for. 11 vnto. 12 I haue after admyrall.
13 and shortly. 14 farre. 16 yet
16 Fol. cxvi. back, col. 2. 17 all those. 18 cheefest.
19 vppon. 20 ran tenderly. 21 omitted, 22 peril and.
23 no we. 24 ioynt nor.
Digitized by
Ca. CXXX.] OP THE JOURNEY TO THE HOLT LAND.
479
am in, and for fere left ye false emperoure cause you to
dye or1 my retoure/ then he begane to make great
sorwe* / then3 Barnarde, who was not farre fro hym,
4 sayd / 4 A, syr, ye know well that in all the fortunes Barnard consoles
him.
and aduentures that hath come to4 you god hathe
ayeded you and sende5 you fro the peryll of deth /
therfore take6 comfort to yourself, and laude and pryse
8 god for that he sendeth4 you / and doute not yf ye
haue perfyte hope and trust in hym he wyll ayed and
confort you / 7 he neuer forgeteth them that with good
harte serueth hym.' Thus with suche wordes Barnard
12 contorted Huon / 7 then the admyral came and lent
downe by Huon / and deuysede togyder of 8 dyuers9
thynges / the same tymo there rose vp a wynd and a10 There suddenly
tempeste so great and so horryble that the sayles were tempest*
16 broke in dyuers places, & some mastes brake and flewe masts were
ouer the bordes of the shyppe / the see begane to be in diver"
wode11 and furyous / so that euery man though[t] to
haue bene peresshyde : the fortune of this tempest was
20 so horryble /12 euery mm / deuoutly called vpon our
lorde god to saue them fro that13 perry U.14 * syr/ quod
Huon, *I pray 15 you she we me what countre is yonder Huon demands
i i ia the name of the
that I se before me, we were happy and16 we myght country he sees
before him.
24 aryue there and cast our ancres vnder the rocke that I
se ther ' / * syr,' quod ye Admyrall, * we be aryued at an
yll17 port, for we be nere to the deserts of abylante: it is an evil port,
J r ' * ' inhabited by an
on18 yonder mountayne that ye se is conuersant an enemy who slays
and strangles all
28 enemy, who hath causyd many a shyppe and vesseyll who approach,
to be drowned in this see, wherby we be all in great
aduenture19 to be lost / for none can aproche to this
rocko / but that he is slayne & stranglyd20 by the
1 ero. 8 and greefe. 3 but. * ynto. 6 saued.
6 good. 7 and. 8 about 9 and aundrie.
10 omitted. 11 rough. "an. 13 the.
14 and danger that, they were in. 16 Fol. cxvii. col. 1.
M fortunate if. 17 euil. 18 vppon. 19 daunger.
*° slayne after strangled.
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430
HUON OF BUBDEUZ.
[Ca. cxxx.
Every man ia
much afraid,
and tbe admiral ia
anxious to
withdraw from
the place.
Huon mutt have
•peech of Uiia
enemy ;
if he diapleaaea
him he will strike
off his head.
The admiral
declares that
600 Huons could
not resist him.
Hnonis
determined to
visit him;
the admiral tries
to dissuade him,
but in vain.
Barnard wishes to
go with Huon j
enemy that ys there, / then euery man was in great
fere, and the Admyrall sayd to1 y* mareners / ' syrs, I
pray you if it may be let vs draw out of this quarter ' /
' Syr,' quod Huon, ' me thynke ye are to sore2 abasshyd / 4
for by that lorde that made me to his semblaunce,
I shall neuer haue ioye in3 my harte tyll4 I know why
that enemy cause the them to perysshe 6 that pas5 this
waye / I shall neuer rest tyll4 I haue spoken with 8
hym, and yf he do any thynge contrary to my pleasure,
I shall stryke of his hede.' ' Huon/ quod the admyral,
' I haue great maruayle of that ye do saye / for yf there
were .v.C. suche as ye be / within an owre ye shulde 12
all be dede and strangelyd.' 'Syr/ quod Huow,
' dought not* that / for thoughe I shuld dye in the
quarrell, I wyll go se hym and know the cause why he
letteth or troubelethe this passage / or7 it be .iii. dayes 1G
to an ende I shall go and speke with hym 8 what
soeuer fortune.*8 'Syr/ quod the admyrall, 'in you it
is to do your owne wyll : 9syn it pleseth you I must
be co/itent / but yf ye wold beleue me ye shuld not 20
take on10 you that vyage/11 'Syr/ quod Huon, all
smy lynge, 4 1 haue my hope 12 in 13 god 14 and in ye vyrgyn
Mary his mother,14 who hathe 15hether vnto15 sauyd
me,16 and so I hope they17 wyll do 18yette / for it is a 24
comune prouerbe sayde,17 whome that14 god wyll ayde1*
no man can hurte.' ' Syr/ quod the admyrall, ' I praye
to1 our lorde god to defende you fro all y 11 / and20
gyue you21 grace to retourne agayne in sauegarde* / 28
'syr/ quod Huon, 'I thanke you.'22 Then Barnardtj
rose vp & sayd, * dere cosyn, I requyre you20 let me go
1 vnto. 2 dismayed and. 3 at 4 vntill.
*-* so fast. 8 you. 7 before.
8~8 what fortune soeuer commeth therof. 9 for.
10 vppon. 11 and enterprize. 12 and trust.
13 almightie. 14-14 omitted. 16-16 heretofore.
18 from death. 17 he. 18 Fol. cxvii. col. 2.
19 mid succour. 20 to. 21 the. w heartily.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxi.] how huox is abandoned on shore.
481
with you' / Hhen the admyrall sayd / csyr, I desyre the admiral wiu
also accompany
you2 be contente that I and Barnarde maye keep him with 400
you company, and we shall haue with vs for ye more brave knIghts*
4 sauegard of our parsones .CCCC. hardy knyghtys'/
' syr,' quod Huon, 4 by goddys grace I wyll go alone, But Huon deairea
none shall go with me but my selfe and Iesu Chryste, *°
and his blyssyd mother, in whose sauegard I comrayt
8 my selfe ' / when Barnard hard that he had great Barnard and the
admiral ate much
sorowe at his harte, and so had the admyrall, when friaved.
they sawe8 they coude not tourne hym4 fro his5
vyage.6 Then Huon armyd hym7 and toke leue of the Huon anna
himself,
12 admyrall and of the other lordys, and of Barnard, who takes leare of Me
made great sorow for his cosyn Huon, who all alone and is set' ashore,
wold go in to the desertes8; when Huon had taken his
leue, he was sette a londe,9 and made the syngne of
16 the10 crosse on11 his breste. Then he mountyd vpon the
mountayne, but or12 he was the halfe waye / a great whenhewaa
half way up the
wynde arose on11 the see / so that the tempeste was mountain, a storm
great and orryble / 13 so that13 the cordys and cables forced the
20 of the shyppys with the admyrall brast asonder / lao ^w^d^ouid!"
that14 parforce they were fayne to take the see and sayle
at aduenture as wynde and wether wolde serue them /
15 so that parforce15 they were cast out of that great The ships are
24 se, wherof the admyrall and Barnarde, and all the other great sea, and
lordys had great fere, and greatly complayned for fear for SuoU.
Huon, who alone without company was mountid on11
the mou7i16teyne ; and as he was goynge he lokyd
28 downe into the see / and saw the marueylous tempest Huon sees the
' storm, and how
that was in the see, so that of .CC. shyppes that he ail the ship- were
scattered.
had lefte there wttft the admyral, he coude then se no
more but .ii. together, for al the rest were separate ono
32 fro another in great peryll17 / then ho began18 to wepo
1 and. 2 to. 8 thit 4 Huon. 6 dangerous.
0 and enterprise. 7 self. 8 to seke aduentures.
9 shoare. 10 a. u vppon. 12 ere. whereby.
14 omitted. 16-18 whereuppon.
18 Fol. cxvii. back, col. 1. 17 and danger. 18 pitifully.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. I I
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482
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca, cxxxi.
He be*™ to weep and complayne for his wyfe1 Esclaramonde, whome he
for his wife 111 a i i
EscUrmmonde, thought then neuer more2 to se, by cause he was in that
man u!*ht deserte, and saw the shyppes dreuyn fro the londe in
*** great fere of lesyng. Then he knelyd downe and held 4
vp his handys to3 ye4 heuen, requyryng our lorde god
He preyed to God of his petye and grace to ayde and to gyue hym
need, comforte so4 that he myght scape5 thence alyue / and
to saue the shyppes and to bringe them agayne in 8
sauegard to the place fro whence they departyd. Then
petuously6 he complaynyd for his wyfe and donghter,
& sayde, ' a, ryght noble lady Esclaramonde, when I
remembre the paynes, and dolours, and pouerties, that 12
by my cause ye suffer and haue sufferyd / all my body
sweteth for7 payne & doloure / Alas, I had thought in
short space to haue ayded and socuryd you / but now I
se well8 our departynge is come for euermore / in yonder 16
perelous see, I se my cosyn Barnard and dyuers other
lordys, that by my cause are in the way of pardyssyon
without god to9 ayde10 them, whom I humbly requyre
to cau»e Barnard to sende them that grace that they may aryue at 20
in Set*^**611 some11 porte, and that I may ones12 see them agayne to
H^n°toM«hia the entente that I may fyght agaynste the paynyms
friend* again. sarasyns in exaltynge the law of Iesu chryst/
Thus Huon of Burdeaux made his prayers to our lorde 24
Iesu chryste.
l*% How Huon wente so long in this deserte
that he founde Cayine and spake with hym
a longe season, and howe he begylid28
Cayine and departid. Ca cxxxi.
1 the faire. 2 more after se. 8 vnto. 4 omitted.
6 from. 8 greeuously. 7 by. 8 that. 9 doe.
10 and Buccour. u good . 12 once after them.
13 Fol. cxvii. back, col. 2.
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Google
Ca. cxxxl] op huon's cruel fortune. 483
Fter that Huon had thus made his
prayers to1 our lorde god, he rose vp
& blyssyd him with y* syngne of y*
crosse recommaundynge hym selfe
to1 our lorde god, & so2 came to the
heyght3 of the mountayne; 4 when On reaching the
top of the
he was there al his body trymbelyd with traueyle, so mountain, Huon
8 that he was6 faynte, and feble. Then he lokyd all6 a^foudown.
abought,7 and sawe in a fayre medow a clere fountayne,
thether he went to refresshe and to reste hym / then he He refreshed
layde hym down on8 the gras to refresshe hym or9 he fountain* and,
12 wolde drynke, he was so hote / and when he was well
colyd he came to the fountayne and dranke10 a lytyll
and wasshyd his handys and fase / 11 then he went going further
w ' into the forest,
further into the foreste and coude fynde nother towne could find neither
town, castle,
16 nor castell, gardayne, nor trees with frute, wherof he gardens, neither
was12 sorowfull,13 and so serchyd all day to fynde SOm nor women,
man or woman, but all was in vayne / & when he saw
that the sonne went to rest and coude fynd no creature,
20 he was sore anoyed14 / he chose out a tree & there15 layd He was sore
* annoyed,
hy[m]16 downe & slepte; & in the mornyng when he and laid him
. iii down to sleep
saw the sonne ryse, and that his beamys spred abrode under a tree.
on8 the erthe / then2 he arose and blessyd hym / and so At sunrise he
24 wente forth in to the deserte and found nother man into the desert,
nor woman / beste nor byrde, wherwith 17 he was sore man nor woman,
dysplesaunt17 / deuoutly he callyd vpon our lorde god Hecaiied on our
18Iesu chryst, and on his blessyd mother the vyrgyn SSd^a^rgTn"1*1
28 Mary,18 prayenge them19 to haue in theyr20 ^tuissyon22 i^nce again11
his body and sowle / and that he myght yet ones see ^Iw^
his wyfe23 and 24chylde.24 He went so long in this
1 vnto. 2 omitted. 3 toppe. 4 but. 6 verie.
8 round. 7 him. 8 vppon. 9 before. 10 thereof.
u and. 12 right. 13 and sore displeased.
14 discomforted. 16 vnder. 16 hyd in text.
w— it being sorowfull and angrie. 18-18 omitted.
19 him. 80 his. 21 Fol. exviii. col. 1. 22 and keeping.
23 the faire Escleremond. **- 24 Clariet his Daughter.
1 I 2
Digitized by
484
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxxxl
At tut he reached deserte that at last he cam to a playne of a1 .iii. bo we
a plain, where he .
nw a tun or oak shote large, and in ye myddes therof he sawe a tonne
which rolled made of the hart of oke, bound all abought with
SrcSt or the bandys of Iron / and it euer1 toumyd and rollyd in the 4
pUin* playne, and neuer passyd out of the cyrcuyte of the
and beside it, playne / and besyde the tonne he saw where there lay
l^wT,lUgnat on2 the grounde a great mall of Iron / great maruayle
maiiet of iron. jjucwi had3 when he saw this tonne thus4 rolle abought 8
Aa the tan passed without sease lyke a tempeste, and as it passyd by
by him, he heard . . .
a piteous Toice hym6 he hard a petuous6 woice within the tonne sore
puining?m complaynynge, and when he had hard it .iL or .iii.
He approaches tymys he aprochyd nere to the toune, and sayd, ' thou 12
and asks who lies that art in this tonne / speke to7 me & shew me what
within it. ^ou ar*. or wna(j thyng thou nedyst8 of, and why thou
art put there ' / Then when he that was in this9 tonne
No answer oomes harde Huon,10 res tyd styl & spake no word.11 when 16
forth.
Huon sawe that it wold not speke, 10 sayd / 1 what so
Huon conjures euer thou art, I coniure ye by hym that creatyd all the
the voice to reply
to him. worlde, and by his sone our lorde Iesu chryst, whom he
sent downe to suffer dethe and passy[on] on the tre of 20
the crosse to redeme liis frendys, who by the synne of
Adam and Eue were in lymbo, and by his gloryous
resurreccyon, and by his aungels and archangels,
Cherubyns and Seraphyns, and by all his holy sayntys, 24
I coniuere thee to shewe me what thou arte, & why12
thou art set here in this tonne V when he that was
within the tonne hard how sore he was coniuryd,
he answeryd and sayde / ' thou that hast coniuryd me, 28
thou doesto great yll13 to cause me to shew the y*
He who is in the trouthe / knowe suerly that I haue to name Cayme,
Snu them who and sone I was to7 Adam & Eue, 14 and am he that
r° ' r' slew my brother Abel by false and cursid enuy that I 32
1 omitted, 8 vpon. 8 had after maruayle.
4 thus after abought 8 Huon. 8 pitifull. 7 vnto,
8 hast neede. 9 the. 10 he. 11 and.
12 and for what cause. 13 euill. 14 Fol. cxviii. col. 2.
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Google
Ca. cxxxi.] how huon meets with cain.
4S5
had to1 hym, bycause his oblacyons and dymes that he
made to1 god were exaltyd, and the fume therof went
vpwarde to heuyn / and tho* that I made the fume
4 wente downe warde / and when I sawe that, I slewe &
mourderyd my brother Abell, wherfore, and for the
great syn that I haue commyttyd, I am dampnyd to and^ therefore
be and to suffer this merterdome with in this tonne suffer this
martyrdom until
8 wherin I am closyd brynnynge8 and wit/i serpentys, the day of
Judgment*
and todys here within deuouryth4 me, and yet I can
not dye / and here I shall be vnto6 the day of Iuge-
niente, and then my payne shall be doubelyd / Nowe
1 2 haue I shewyd the thy demaund, wherfore I repute the
but a fole / when thou art so hardy6 to enter into this None depart from
this desert alire,
deserte where as neuer man enteryd and departyd
without dethe / for knowe for trouthe7 hether repayreth for it is inhabited
16 .ii. enemyes, fendys of hel, who shall sle the and bere h^^howmsiay
thy sowie into hell without thou wylt do as I shall d^^am* h*
shewe the ' / ' frende/ quod Huon, 1 1 pray the shewe thofn him'
me what it is that thou spekest of, or what thynge
20 thou wylte thai I shulde do, and I shall8 do it to the Huon win do
entent that I may departe9 hense / there is no thynge Mk^him,^?11
in the worlde but I shall do it for the, so thou shewe wmbowto,h°W
me the way bow I maye departe9 hens ' / ' frende,' quod depart thence"
24 Cayme, 'I shall shew the what thou shalt do: thou
shalte take this malle of iron that thou seest there Cain tells Huon
_ . _ ,A. . . , _ to take the iron
& stryke therwith so long vpon this tonne tyl5 thou maiiet and strike
breke10 it, to the entent that I myght11 issue out / & SbrJS? i?1 UU
28 when I am delyueryd I shall set y* in sauegard in Cain wtu then be
delivered,
Ierusalem or in frauwce, or in what cowtre19 thou wylte and win set Huon
wysshe / yf thou do this that I haue sayd, & delyuer country he may
me fro this tourmewt, I shal set ye whersoeuer thou wUh'
32 wylt be, in any lond "chrysten or hethen / and yf thou
1 vnto. 2 those. 3 burning. 4 deuouring.
4 vntiU. • as. 7 that 8 will. • from.
10 hast broken. 11 may. 18 soeuer.
13 Fol. cxviii. back, col. 1.
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Google
486
HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. cxxxi.
Huon reftoee to
set Cain fre*
until he haa told
him the way
hence;
then he promiaea
ao to do.
Cain telle Huon
to deeeend
the mountain, to
enter a ahip, and
pretend to the
one man he will
find in it that he
it Cain himself,
ready to destroy
Christian men :
do not this that I haue sayd, or1 it be nyght I shall
cause the to dye with great tormentes, for anone thou
shalt se come heder .iL deuyls of hell, fowyll and
howdeous to behold, and they shall strangle the & here 4
thy Bowie into helL' 2<0, verye god/2 quod Huon,
' humbely I requyTe8 the to saue me fro this tourmente /
Cayme,' quod Huon, ' thou spekyste4 fayre and sayeste
as thou lyste, but I wyll not delyuer the out of this 8
tonne tyll5 fyrst thou shewe me how I may departe
hence ' / then Cayme sayd, ' yf thou wylt promyse me
by thy faythe and by thy parte of paradyse to delyuer
me out of this tonne / I shall shewe the the maner 12
howe thou shalte scape fro hense.' 'Cayme/ quod
Huon, 'haue no dought, and that I promyse the
to kepe my faythe / so thou shew me the maner how I
may depart out of this deserte, I shal delyuer the out 1 6
of thy tourmente.' Then Cayme sayd / 1 thou shalte go
by this lytyll pathe that thou seest here by on6 thy
ryghte hande / the whiche shall brynge the strayte to
the see syde, the whiche is not far6 hense / 8then go 20
downe the mountayne where as thou shalt fynde a
shyp, and therin but one man / but or thou9 enter into
the shyppe, blysse the thre tymys, for he that thou
shalte fynde there is a fende of hell / and shewe10 hym 24
howe thou art Cayme scapyd out of the rollynge
tonne, and byd hym to pas the ouer; and saye howe11
thou wylte go and dystroye12 the chrysten men that be
in the worlde & brynge theyr sowlys into hell / and 28
when he hereth the say thus, he wyll pas the ouer in
sauetye / for it is longe synne that he hathe taryed for
me / by cause he thynkethe I shulde scape out of this
tonne. But thou must take with the this mall 18 of 32
1 before. *-f Ah, good Lorde. 3 and beseech.
* mee. 6 vntill. • from. 7 vppon. 8 and.
• doest. 10 vnto. 11 that. 18 slay all.
13 Fol. cxviii. back, col. 2.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxii] how gain directs huon.
487
Iron on1 thy necke to the entente that he shall the *• i» to tuun the
Iron mallet on hie
better byleue the.' 2 H 'Cayme/ quod Huon, 'I pray neck, that the men
ehall the better
the is this of trouth that thou hast sayd V / ' frond,' beuere him.
4 quod Cayme, ' I ly e neuer a worde. Nowe I praye the if tuu i» true ;
synne3 I haue shewed the maner howe thou mayst J^CtlnneT6r
scape / take this mall of Iron and breke asonder this
tonne that I am in / that I maye be delyueryd'4 /
8 'Cayme/ quod Huon, 'I praye the6 shewe me who is Huon enquires
who pat Cain into
he that dyd put the into this tonne, & what is his the ton,
name T / 'syr/ quod Cayme, 'knowe for trouth that
god of heuen set me here bycause I had dyspleasyd and learns tout
God of Ha&vqh
12 hym for sleynge of my brother Abell, wherfore I haue eet him there,
sufferyd so moche payne and sorowe that more I
can not endure / and therfore yet agayne I praye the5
delyuer me* hense' / 'Cayme/ quod Huon, 'god Therefore Huon
16 forbede that I shulye delyuer the syn8 our lorde god him;
haue set the there / know for trouth thou shalte neuer c*k» «h*u not
' depart thence
departe* thense without7 it be by his commaunde- except by the
commandment of
mente / for there shalte thou be euer for me / I had the Lord.
20 rather be pariuryd then to fordo8 that thynge that9
god wyll haue done to punysshe the for the ylles10 that
thou haste done / I knowe well as for the yll11 that I Hnon feeii eure
, .m,. „ he will be
haue done as in brekinge of my promyse to the, pardoned for
24 god wyll lyghtly pardone me for it / abyde thou there m^romul?g
with thy cursyd synnes / for as12 by me thou shalte
haue none other ayde/
% How Huon departid fro Caym and passed
28 the see in a veseyle gydyd by the deuyll,
who byleuid it had bene Cayme / and
Huon aryuyd at a citye cailid Colanders,
where as he found the admiral of perse
1 vpon. * and surely he will then passe the ouer.
8 seeing. 4 out of this paine and torment. 6 to.
6 from. 7 excepte. 8 vndoe. 9 which. 10 euils.
11 euil. 12 sure.
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488
HUON OP BURDEUX, [Ca, CXXXlL
Cain call* Huon
traitor and liar.
Huonretorta;
Cain haa well
deserved his
suffering, and
shall shortly have
more pain and
Borrow.
Cain complains
that Huon haa
subtly deceived
him*
bat owns that had
Huon delivered
him, he would
have strangled
the knight.
*and Barnarde his cosyn, who had layd
sege to the citye. Ca. Cxxxii.
Hen Cayme2 vnderstode Huon, he sayd,
1 A, thou false traytoure, by whonie I 4
am begyl)d and mock yd / thou arte
not worthy to be byleuyd in any
thynge that thou sayeste, thou lyest
worse than a dogge.' c 0 thou false pariuryd traytoure, 8
thou hast yll kept thy promys, thou art not worthy to
be byleuyd, Cayme/ quod Huon, ' other good getteste
thou none of me / for thou arte not worthy to be harde,
when thou haste slayne thy dere brother by false enuy 12
and cursyd treason wherof thou arte ful / go thy waye,
traytoure, to moche yll8 can not be done to4 the / be
contente with the tonne that thou arte in / thou
nedyste not fere of any fresshynge nor of more 16
fourtherynge for me, well hast thou deseruyd it, but
within short tyme thou shalte haue worse payne and
sorowe.' 'A, traytoure,' quod Cayme, 'and false Iyer,
thou hast loste thy parte of paradyse.' ' Thou lyeste/ 20
quod Huon / ' to4 the, ought to bo kepte nother fay the
nor promys, bycause thou haste slayne Abell thy
brother, wherfore thou arte nowe ponysshyd, and well
hast thou deseruyd it' / ' A, false Iyer/ quod Cayme, 24
'suptylly thou haste deseyuyd5 me by thy false wordy s
and subtyltyes / I see well thou shalte6 go7 hense and
leue me sty 11 in this payne.' ' sartaynely,' quod Huon,
1 that I promysed the was but to begyle the / for as by 28
me thou shalt not como out without he commaunde it
that set the here ' / ' well, Huon/ quod cayme, 1 knowe
for sertayne that in all thy lyfe thou were neuer better
counseylyd, for yf thou haddest delyuerde me out in 32
contynente I 8wolde haue strangled the.' 'A, false
1 Fol. cxix. col. 1. 8 had well.
6 and mocked. 6 wilt 7 from.
3 euill. 4 vnto.
8 Fol. cxix. col. 2.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxii.] op thb admiral's voyage. 489
fende/ quod Huon, ' yet thou hast no repentaunce of Huon departed
thyne yll1 that thou hast done / I wyll go my waye, ahovn Mm." ^
and thou shalt abyde here styll 2 for euer in8 payne <&
4 tormente ' / there with Huon departyd and toke the
mall on4 his neke and enteryd in to the letyll waye
that Cayme had shewyd5 hym.
H Now we wyll leue spekynge of Huon and speke To return to
8 of the admyrall of Perce and of his armye on4 the see. Penia,
On4 the seconde day the tempest sessyd and the see6 LaeeTo'TtL
calme and fayre / then the shyppes drew agayne thTew^a^ved
togyder as it pleysede god, and aryuyd at a noble citye, cohmdwi?11*1
12 the whiche was as then in armanye called colanders,
a great and a fayre citye / but after it was dystroyd
by the noble duke ogyer ye danoyse, he went in to
ynde / the admyrall7 greatly compleyned for Huon T^idn^ai
16 whom they had so lost / they though neuer to se hym or Huon greatly:
more, and Barnarde his cosyn made suche sorowe that3 fear never to see
py te it was to se hym ; ye Admyrall and all his lordes him agail1,
wepte8 sore9 for Huon, they thought ne[u]er10 to se hym
20 agayne. But he that oure lorde Iesu chryste wyll haue
sauyd can not peryse, for Huon the same tyme came But at that very
time Huon was
downe the mountayne to come to6 the porte where as coming down
the vesseyll laye and the deuyll with in it / when Huon wMtiMderii
24 sawe the vesseyll and the fende with in it, who was so cahi unwarned
howdeous and horryble to regarde11 that it was maruayle thefiend wae
to se; he semyde well to be the deuyll of hell, his SJ^.11* 10 look
hede was as great as an oxe hede / his eyne more
28 redder then .ii. brynynge12 coles, his tethe greate and
longe, and as rought as a beyre, he caste fyre and
smoke oute of his gorge lyke a forneyse, 13 it was no
meruayl though Huon doutyd hym / for when he saw Huon had great
C2 him so fowle, he had great fere / and so lent hymselfe
1 euill. 2 for euer after tormente. 8 great.
4 vppon. 6 vnto. 8 waxed. 7 and his companye.
8 and pitifully complayned. 9 sore before wepte.
10 nener in text. 11 beholde. 12 burning.
13 Fol. cxix. back, col. 1.
Digitized by
490
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxxxii.
md made the sign to a roke the better to beholde hym / 1then he blyssed
ofthecroM.
hym with the synge of the crosse, recommaundynge
hymselfe to the saue garde of our lord 2Iesu chryst2 /
The enemy did it fortuned so the same teme that y* enemy sawe hym 4
not perceive the
•ten. not 'A, 8very god/3 quod Huon, 'I praye and
Huon entreat* ,? , - ,
Godtoconnaei requyre the humbly to conseyl me in what maner
him how to deal t , , , . . , .
with the fiend; I shuld trust in this fowle fende who is fereful to
beholde, I haue merueyll how I myght be aquentyd 8
with hym, wheder I myght trust to be in the shyppe
the ei^pHu1" in W^'^ ^m I ser*iayn^y * naue bought that he wyll
win •ureiy be cast me in to the see or elles slee me on the other syde
of, ye se I wotc not what to do / for I most be fayne to 12
trust hym, or elles4 retourne in to the deserte, where
as I shall dey 6 for rage,6 and neuer to6 se wyfe nor
chylde. But syn7 it is thus I shal aduenture myselfe
ir Huon escape* with hym / and yf I may escape fro this aduenture, 16
from this ad- " ' " " *
venture, he will go I shall go to the holy sepulture wher as our lorde Iesu
to the Holy ,
sepulchre and chryst was quycke and dedde / and then I shal make
make war on the " .1 <m . . , _ . _
Saracens. warre vpon the Sarasyns / then duke Huon toke on8
Thw Hnon takes hym herte and corage, and with ye mal on8 his neke he 20
marchyd forth fersly / then he callyd the enemy and
and calls on the sayd / ' 0 thou that kepest this wessell and passage,
fiend to give him
paaaage over the passe me in contynente ouer this see and sette me
a londe on8 the other syde ' / when the deuyll sawe 24
Huon with the mal on8 his neke and spekynge so
fersly, he sayd, * what arte thou, wheder wylt thou go,
or what dost thou seke for here, or how art thou so
The fiend refuses bolde to come heder, thou shalt neuer go f erther. But 28
to let him go
farther, and will I shal cast the in the see or strangell the, and then
hto?ml bis? his bere thy soule in to heU.'
•oui to heii. 9qr wnen huow hard hym, he began to trymble, but
Huon, in no way he was no thinge abajwhyd / for yf he had fayntyd or 32
r bashed, says he " ' " " *
ucainj taryed to haue made answere he had incontynent be10
1 and. god, but « good Lord. * to.
6-6 with famine. 6 more. 7 seeing. 8 vppon.
9 FoL ciix. back, col. 2. 10 beene.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxxxii.] how huon meets the fiend. 491
dystroyed and slayne / but lyke a hardy knyght fill of
great prowes, & ferme in the fayth of Iesu chryst, sayd /
' hold thy pease, thou fole / for I am Cayme for whome
4 thou hast taryed here so longe / 1 came ryght1 now out
of the rollynge tonne vpon the mountayne : hast the the liend mut
and passe me ouer this arme of the see / for I shall and then wiu
fynd nother man nor woman / that byleueth on2 Iesu christian*.
8 chryst but I shall sle hym to the entent that hell maye
be fyllyd with theyr sowles ' / when the fende harde
Huon say so he had great ioyc, and sayde / ' Cayme,
whye haste thou made me tary hero so longe as I haue
12 done, I am ioyfull of thy comynge / for I coud neuer
haue departyd out of this place without thou haddest
bene delyuerid out of the tonne, therfore, Cayme, come The fiend joyfully
invitee Cain to
on thy waye, enter into this shyppe3 / and I shal enter the ship :
16 brynge the where as thou wylte be / gladly I wyll passe >»• wiu gladly
take him over
the ouer the see to the entente that thou shuldest sle the tea.
chrysten men and Sarasyns / to haue theyr sowles into
heir / Then Huon enteryd into the shyppe com-
20 maundynge4 hymselfe to our lorde Iesu chryste : and
sayd, 'quyckly passe me ouer' / or5 Huon thought Very quickly the
that he had bene gone but .ii. legys, he was ouer on the the land on the
other syde, wherof Huon had great maruayle that he sea,
_ . * -1,111 ii 1,1*1 *nd Huon thank i
24 was so sone ouer, and thankyd our lorde god that he ood for hu
was out of that daunger: then he toke leue of the He take* leare or
enemy, and sayd, 'farewell, I wyll retourne agayn pronging to
3hortely, within these thre dayes thou shalte here day1™
28 tydynges of me' / •then the fende answeryd shortely
and sayde, ' Cayme, go thy waye quyckely, & hast the
7 to the entent that when thou retournyst into hell, thou
shalte haue good chere of our maysters, who greatly
32 desyreth thy comynge ' / then Huon departyd quyckely / Huon departed
quickly, and
he thought euer the deuyl had folowed hym / 8 then approached the
' dtyofColandere,
Huo?i8 went so longe that he aprochyd to a citye
1 euen. 2 in. 8 presently. 4 recommending.
6 Before. 6 and. * Fol. cxx. col. 1. 8~8 and he.
Digitized by
492
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[O
a. cxxxni.
Mid In the even-
ing entered It
with the mallet
ou Ids neck.
The Suraeene
marvelled to aee
him come alone
on foot, and
armed,
end demanded of
him who he was.
He is Cain, come
to destroy all who
believe in the law
of Jesus Christ.
That night the
paynlms feasted
Huon and
welcomed him
joyfully,
because the day
before the admiral
of Persia had laid
siege to the city.
callyd Colanders / glad was Huon when he had loste
the syghte of the 1 spryghte 1 / and in the euynny nge he
enteryd into the citye of colanders with the mall on2
his necke / the paynyms and Sarasyns8 within the 4
citye had great maruayle when he cam alone afote
clene armyd into the citye / and amonge other there
was one demaundid of hym what he was and why
he wente so alone armyd / then Huon answeryd hym 8
ferely to abasshe hym therwith, and sayd, 'I am
Cayme who by myne ylnes slew Abell my brother,
wherwitA god was angery with me / but or4 it be longe
tyme I shall take suche vengauwce that as many men, 12
or women, or chyldren, as I fynd byleuynge in the
lawe of Iesu chryst, I shall dystroy them all in such
wyse that the paynyms and Sarasyns shal haue no
dought for any yll5 that they shall do to6 them / for I 16
shall dystroye and sle them all, nother sparynge olde
nor yong ' / when the paynyms harde that they were
7ioyfull / and that nyght saruyd well8 Huon and made
hym great feste, bycause they trustyd that he shulde 20
dystroye all chrystendome, and sayd amonge them
selues that he was as then9 welcom thether bycause the
citye was besegyd the day before by the admyrall
of Perce / thus Huon had great ioye & feast e made to6 24
hym ; and after supper he was broughte to10 a11 ryche
chambre wherin he laye and slept12 tyll13 the nexte
mornynge.
% uHow Huon15 had great ioye when he sawe 28
the admyrall of Perce before Colanders
where he foughte with the Sarasyns.
Ca. C.xxxiii.
*— 1 euill Spirit. * vppon. 8 that were. 4 before.
6 euill. • vnto. 7 right 8 well after Huon.
9 as then after that. 10 into. u faire and.
12 soundly. 13 vntill. 14 Fol. cxx. col. 2.
16 of Bourdeaux.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxiii.] of thb admiral of Persia before colanders. 493
Fter that y* admyral of Perce had
lefte Huon in the deserte of abylaunt
& how he had a great storme on1 ye
see, & at ye2 last there shyppes
assemblyd togyder & aryued at the The admiral of
J OJ J Persia had ar-
porte before the eeyte of colanders, rived at the city
„ . . ofColandere
in the whiche cyete huon was3 in / who wa3 ryght where Huon was,
8 ioyous when he knewe that y* admyrall was come
theder to laye sege to the cete, and the admerall* was although the
w admiral and
8orowfull bycause they had lost huon, and speseyally Barnard were
lamenting that
barnard hys cosyn, for he though neuer to haue seen never again
12 hym agayne. But he had shortly tydynges of hym as wm!dtheyM6
ye shal here after / when the admerall was aryuyd at
ye porte, they armyd them5 and ordeyned there men The admiral
orders his men
as well as they myght to assay 11 the ceyte of colanders, to assault the
16 They issuyd out of there shyppys & came marchyng dty*
toward es the ceyte, and made a great assault / 6thew ye
paynyms7 armyd them on all sydes and went to the Thepaynima,
* J J J J fully armed, went
defences / then the chatelyne8 of y' toune came to to the defences,
20 huon, and savd, * come on forth, cayme, it is tyme for «>d the c«pt«in
v calls on Huon to
you to shewe what ye can do / for here with out ar the2 show what he can
cristene men assaylynge the ceyte / I pray you spare
them not,9 we haue great trust in you ' / c syrs,' quod
24 huon, *syn10 I am in this ceyte ye nedde not to fere
any parson, anone ye shall se what I can do ' / ' cayme,'
quod the capetayne, ' I pray you go on before, and we Huon is to go
shall folowe you ' / * well,' quod huon, ' with this mall rest wmfoiiow ;
28 I shall astone them all 1 / the paynymes had great ioy Se°enemy with*
of his wordes, wenynge surely it had beno cayme / hi*maUei•
then huon 11 armyd hym / and he hadde a good horse Huon, armed and
brought to12 hym, where vpon he mountyd / then he wwV^tcTthe
32 and the paynyms Issuyd out of the citye and found as the m^nVrThe1
then the admyrall of Perse and all his company redy ran^m°order*of
1 vppon. 2 omitted. 8 now. * and his companie.
6 themselues. 6 ami. 7 and Sarazins. 8 Captaine.
9 for. 10 seeing. 11 Fol. cxx. back, col. 1. 12 vnto.
Digitized by
494
huon op burdbux. [Ca, cxxxi*.
Huon takes no
part in the fight,
because he had
been so kindly
welcomed In the
city.
He thanks God
that once again
he beholds the
admiral and
Barnard,
and hopes, with
the Lord's aid,
to see his wife
and child.
rengyd1 in batayle. And when lie sawe that the
Sarasyns were issuyd out, he set on2 them fersly, and
Huon, who was ioyfull of the aduenture that was fallen
to him, he stepte out aparte to behold the batayle, and 4
wolde not medyll bycause he had bene so well reseyuyd
and feastyd in the citye by them of the towne. And
he well parsayuid that the assaultes were of the realiue
of Perce, and how the admyrall & his cosyn Barnard 8
were there / wherof he hadde suche ioye that he wepte
for gladnes, and thankyd god of ye good fortune that he
had sent hym, and sayd : 3< 0 very god, ye ought3
greatly to be laudyd,4 for ye6 neuer fayle6 them at 12
tyme of nede that serueth you7 / now I may well saye
that with your grasyous ayde yet I shall ones8 se my
wyfe & my chylde* / thus Huon sayd to himselfe
beholdynge bothe batayles fyghtynge. 16
% Howe the citye of Colanders was taken by
the admyrall of perce after he had wonne
the batayle, and of the great ioye that was
made to9 Huon when he was knowen by 20
the admeral of Perse and by his cosyn
Barnarde. Ca. C.xxxiiii.
The admiral set
on his enemies ;
the slaughter on
both sides was
great.
The men of the
city were
worsted, and were
forced to grant
the victory to
their enemies.
Hen the admyrall of Perce sawe and
parseuyuyd that they of the towne 24
were issuyd out, he marched forthe
his batayles and set on11 his enemyes /
there was great slauter12 on both
partyes. But at the last they of the citye had the 28
worse, for the chrysten men were of a greater nombre
then the paynyms13 that were issuyd out, wherfore
1 arriued. 8 vppon.
4 praysed. 6 thou. 6 faylest.
9 vnto. 10 Fol. cxx back, col. 2. "
12 made. 13 and Sarazins.
3-3 Ah, good Lord, thou oughtest.
8 favioaf 7 thee. 8 more.
vpon.
Digitized by
Ca, cxxxiv.] how the admiral welcomes huon.
495
they were constraynyd to graunt the vyctory to theyr
enemyes / the paynymes 1tourned theyr backes1 and The paynim* fled
fled towardes theyr citye / & the admyrall and Barnarde panned by the
4 with theyr company chasyd them 2and slew them,2 Barnard, who at
that it was pety to se it / fynally the admyrall opressyd ai^h enter U>e
them so sore, that he enteryd in to the citye with
them, and Barnarde & his company / and slewe and bet
8 downe the Sarasyns, that maruayle it was to see / the
blud that ran in3 the stretys / when the admyrall sawe seeing he had the
how4 he had the vyctory / then he commauwdyd to Id^iS orders
sece the2 sleynge / and that all suche as wold byleue ^>J*ughtorto
12 6 6 on god Iesu chryst,6 theyr lyues shuld be sauyd and Ip^re'aTwhowui
theyr goodes / and so all such as wold not be christenid u
shuld be slayn incontynent and none sparyd, the
which was done / many7 receyuyd chrystendome, and Many accepted
16 such8 as wold not were9 slayne / thus as this citye was thoee who wonid
taken; then Huon, who10 enterid into the citye with and thus was the
the admyralle8 men, came to the palays, where as dtyUken*
he sawe the admyrall and all the barons, & Barnarde
20 his cosyn / Huon had styl his malle in11 his necke /
12 when he came into the hal he dyd13 of his helme and Huon comes to
the palace, and
salutyd the admyrall & all the other that were there : wiutes the
admiral and all
when the admyrall and his lordys sawe Huon, the14 ioye the others;
24 that they had no man15 can teL * O ryght16 vertuous ^owSTa^°T
describe
knyght/ quod the admyrall, 'your comynge doth so
reioys me that I can not tell whether I dreme or not, The admiral
' cannot tell if it be
ye ar moche bounde to17 god that he hathe geuen you a dream or not;
28 ye grace to saue you fro perell /, then the admyrall /
enbracyd Huon ; and ye may well knowe that Barnarde, *ea'1nlbraoe-
his cosyn, had great ioye, & so had all the other /
12 then the admyrall sayd to17 Huon, 'syr, I pray you The admiral asks
* of Huon his
32 shew me what aduentures ye have had syn ye departyd adventures,
1"1 retired. «-» omitted. 8 through, 4 that
8 Fol. cxxi. ool. 1. •-• in our Lorde God. T of them.
8 aa many. 9 receiue were all. 10 was. 11 vpon.
12 and. 13 put. 14 great 16 tongue.
18 deere and. 17 vnto
Digitized by
Google
406 HCON OF BURDEUX. [Ca. CXXXIV.
fro vs ' / then Huon shewyd them all as ye haue harde
here before, and how he scapyd / when the admyrall
which he relates, and oth er vnderstode Huon they were neuer so 1 abasshyd
totheirgreat . J J
wonder. in all theyr lyfe / of that he was so scapyd fro the 4
handys of the deuyll, and sayd how2 he was moche
aii, end especially bounde to3 god ; they were al glad4 of the comynge of
Barnard, are glad "*
of Huon'» coming. Huon, and specyally Barnard e / then the capetayne of
the citye, who had newly receynyd chrystendome, came 8
The captain of the to3 Huon, and sayd / 'syr, I requyre you8 desyre the
newly converted, admyrall to be my goode lorde6 / for I promyse7
admiral to be hi* faythefully to abyde here in this toune as his good and
good lord. trew seruaunt, kepyng 8fermely the chrysten faythe, 12
the whiche I haue newly receyuyd ' / when Huon saw
the capetayne who had receyuid hym in to his house at
his fyrste comynge in to the citye, he wente to3 the
HuonMkethe admyrall, and sayd / 'syr, I requyre you to geue the 16
the keeping of the kepynge of this citye to3 this noble man to holde it
city to this noble
man. as his owne, and to do homage to3 you for it' / 'syr,'
g^nutni?for (*U0(* ^ admyral, ' al that ye wyll I am agreable vnto ;
love of Huon. I grauwt it hym for the loue of you* / Then Huon 20
thankyd the admyrall / the capetayne, seynge the great
and ryche gyfte that the admyral had geuen3 hym for
the loue of Huon, he had great maruayle of ye great
larges and courtesy that was done to3 hym by meanes 24
The captain 0f Huon / 10 then he knelyd downe before them and
thanked them, ' J
to^admiraL6 ^aukyd them, and dyd homage to3 the admyrall in
the presence of all the lordys,11 and promysid trewly to
The captain kype the citye agayDst all men that wold do any 28
promises to guard J
the city against domage therunto, nor neuer to yeld it vp to3 any
parsone but alonly to the admyrall or to3 hym iliat
and thus was shall haue his comyssyon / thus12 ye citye of Colanders
Colanders taken. , '
was taken. 32
1 amazed and. 8 that 8 vnto. 4 and right ioyfulL
6 to. 6 and Maister. T promiBed.
8 Fol. cxxi. col. 2. 9 he. 10 and. u and barons.
12 as yee haue heard.
Digitized by
Ca. CXXXV.] OF THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM.
497
% How the admyral of Perce and Huon of
Burdeaux, and all theyr hoste, passyd by
Antyoche and by Damas & came to the
citye of Ierusalem to the holy sepulture,
& was nobly receyuid be the kynge of
Ierusalem / and how the Soudans messenger
came and defied the admyrall of perce.
Ca. C.xxxv.
Hen the admyrall and Huon sawe this
citye thus2 wonne and brought vnder
their obeysaunce, and had stablysshed
there a newe lorde and capetayne, and
set prouostis, and baylyffes, and other
officers / then they toke aduyse together and deter- The admiral and
mynyd, syn tliey were alonde, to send backe agayne to tend back their
16 theyr nauey of shyppes into Perce / & they to go by and to *o by lai.d
londe to the citye of Ierusalem / for they had fro thr^hAntioch
thence as they were but .x. 8iouneys8 vnto antyoche / *ndDtmawui*
and so to pas by that citye, and then to4 Damas,
20 & then5 to Ierusalem, and there to do theyr offerynge;
and yf by aduenture they founde in theyr waye other They themeeiret
iii . wer* °' rofllcient
kyngis or admyralhs that wolde let or trouble them in wight to neiet
theyr passynge, they saydfi they were of pusans suffycient admhirJho
24 to resyste agaynste them / and then they sayde how8 fro them in their
Ierusalem the admyrall myght retourne by lond into J£Jm Jerusalem
Perce / vnto the ryuer Euf rates / and there his nauey to rttu^y'^anTto
mete hym, & so to conuey hym to4 his citye of Thauris /
28 & Huon to retourne to4 Iaffe, and fro thence by water J^jf^Sj
to retourne into fraunce : thus they concludyd to do / ™%%£*7 hlm
the which aduyce was laudyd7 of all the lordys8 of the J^*™^,"
hoste ; af 9ter this conclusyon thus taken / the admyrall $JfJ£Ur from
1 Fol. cxxi. back, col. 1. * omitted. 8-3 daye* tourney.
4 vnto. 6 so. 6 that. 7 and praised.
8 and Barons. 9 Fol. cxxi. back, col. 2.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. K K
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498 huon of burdeux. [Ca. exxxr.
The ships, after commaundyd his shyppis to be dyschargvd of all
sotting ashore the . .
things necessary thyngis necessary to be caried by londe / the whiche
im^u* 00,67 by was done dylygently1 / theyr horses were sette a londe,
discharged, theyr tentys and pauylyons trussyd vpon mulys, & 4
Camelles, and Dromedary es / the which caryag semyd
a great host, there were so many together / the noyse
and brute that they made semyd to be a newe worlde /
*when al the shyppis were dyschargyd, the patronns 8
and maysters of the shyppis toke theyr leue of the
TOmmandedto*™ a(^m3rra^» wno commaundyd them expresly to abide
ETul* riTerXlmlral ^m *n ryueT °* Eufrates / and so they dyd.8
Eophrstes. Nowe let vs leue spekyng of them and turne to4 ou[r]5 12
fyrste* mater. H when these shyppis were departyd &
The admiral euery thynge trussyd / then y* admyral cowimauwdyd
merchants and thrughe7 all the countre that all marchantis and other
•end aaer his host able to do it shulde sende after his host brede, wyne, 16
and gave this and flesshe, and bysket to vytell his host / and the
adr^mi'of11* charge to se this done was geuyn to the newe admyrall
colanders. Q£8 Colanders / the whiche he dyd dylygently / when
the admyrall of Perce saw* tyme to departe, he made it 20
Every msn was to be cryed10 thrughe 7 the city by a trompet11 euery
to be ready in the
morning to go man to1* make hym redy to depart y* next mornyni? to
where it pleased
the admiral, go whether it pleasid y* admyral; this was done, so
that1* an owre before the next day there was great 24
andwuh grest^ brute & noyse made in the remouynge ; then ye admyrall
Huon, and an the & Huon made them redy, & mountid on14 theyr horsis
host entered the
fields on their way & issued out of the citye and enterid into the feldis /
to Antiooh }
then the hole hoste toke ye way towardis Antioche ; 28
of theyr iourneys I make no rehersaile : they 15 did 15
so that they passyd by low Armanye & by the hye
they reached the Mermyne, and so on14 a mondaye they came before
city on a Monday,
Antyoche / where as they logyd that nyghte a longe17 32
I according to his commaundement s and.
3 accordingly. * vnto. 6 out in text. 6 former.
7 out. 8 the oitie of. 8 his. 10 proclaimed.
II that. " should. " at 14 vppon.
w-16 road foorth. » Fol. cxxii. col. 1. 17 by.
Digitized by
Ca. CXXXV.] OP THE WAT FROM ANTIOCH TO THK HOLY 01X7. 499
the ryuer1 without that any parsone of the citye made and encamped
* bytherlrer,
any semblaunt to trouble or to let them / but they supplied with
brought out of the citye into y6 host brede, flesshe,2 o7u»e cityt
4 and wyne, and othe[r]3 thyngys necessary for theyr
meny4 / wherof the admyrall and Huon were ryght
ioyous,5 and coude6 them great thanke / and for that in gratitude for
courtoyse the admyral wolde not suffer that any of his harmed any
8 hoste shulde do any hurte or domage to7 any parsone of pe^80,l0fth•c,ty•
the citye / then the nexte daye when they had dynyd, The next day
. . they went to-
they toke theyr waye toward the citye of Damas / and wards Damascus,
as they wente thetherwarde they toke sartayne townes and on their way
. . . ii took possession
12 and castelles, and brought them vnder theyr obey- ofoertaintowni
" and castles
saunce / and such as were taken parforce and wolde not
byleue in our 8lorde god8 Iesu chryste incontynent*
were10 slayne.11 Thus wastynge and dystroyenge the
16 countre in theyr waye, at laste they came before the
citye of Damas ; when they came thether they logyd At Damascus
abought the citye in the gardaines and subbarbes, and the^rdenslad
constraynyd them within the citye to brynge them ud*ouugtd those
20 vytayles / y- whiche they dyd for dought of the 22SL X£E?
dystroyenge of theyr gardayns and frutys there ; they
laye one nyght, and the nexte daye they toke the way The next day
to Ierusalem, and had dyuers batayles by the waye / Jerusalem,
24 but they were of so great a pusaunce that none coude utues*ythe
resyst12 them; so longe rode this chrysten host that Swut their
they came and logyd before Napelous, and there lefte xiieynext lodged
theyr hoste, then the next mornynge the admyrall and S^u^S?
28 Huon, and dyuers of the great lordys13 of Perce,14
departyd fro Napelous, to the nombre of foure thou- ^ pe^SuTr^Sd
sande16 knyghtis to accompany16 them into the ci17tye noon'roUienext
of Ierusalem / thether they came abought none, where
1 side. 2 flesshe after wyne. a othem in text.
4 companie. 6 ioyfull. 6 gaue. 7 vnto.
8-8 Sauiour and Redeemer. 9 they. 10 all.
u and brought to vtter mine and destroyed. u against.
13 and barons. 14 accompanied with them. 15 valiant.
16 guard. 17 Fol. exxii. col. 2.
K K 2
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Google
500
UUON OF BURDEUX. [Ca. CXXXV.
They were
joyftilly reeeWed
by the king, and
the patriarch, and
the arch-priest.
They made their
offering* to the
Holy Sepulchre,
and when they
had accomplished
their holy pil-
grimage, all were
splendidly feasted
at the palace*
As they sat at
dinner, a Saracen
entered;
he was a
messenger sent
by the sultan
to challenge the
admiral to battle
between Bame
and Jafia.
as they were receyuyd with great ioy of kyng Thybault
and of the patryarke & arche pryst, who as then were
in1 Ierusalem / whom y* emperour Constantyne had
lef te there and orderyd for the kepynge of the citye ; 4
when the admyrall of Perce, and duke Huon, &
Barnarde, and other went and offeryd to the holy
sepulture / then they went to the temple of Salamon
and to2 the holy temple of Syraeon, where as they 8
made theyr offerynges / and the next 8 day they dyd
theyr other8 pylgremages to* all the holy plases in the
citye with great deuosyon and reuerence ; when they
had acomplysshyd theyr holey pylgremages, they 12
retournyd to the paleyse of the kynge of Ierusalem,
where as they were greatly festyd and honerahly
receyuyd, of theyr seruyce I wyll make none acounte /
but one thynge I dare well saye, that there was neuer 16
admyrall4 nor kynge better seruyd / and as they sate at
dyner / there enteryd a sarasyn fowle and blacke,
callyd Trampoyngnyfle, the whiche is as moch to say
as Balaach. Then he sayd ahye before the table / ' the 20
same god that made the fyrmament, and that downe to
vs he8 sent his holy profyt Mahomet to teche vs his
holy law / he saue and kepe Saphadin yeS sowdan of
Babylon and of Egypte, & may confound them that 24
be his enemyes / to the admyrall of Perce & of Mede ;
the sowdan sendethe the8 worde by me / that wrong-
fully and without cause thou goest & dystroyest his
countre & his people without6 geuynge hym any 28
knowlege why thou dost soo / & therfore by me he
sendeth y* word 8by me8 that am his secrete messenger,
tlvat he wyl assynge to2 y* day of batayle, that is a6
thursday nexte coraynge, 7betwene Bame and Iaffe / 32
wheras there is a playne countre / and he wyll8 thou
1 the Citie of. * vnto. s~s omitted.
4 Admyrall after kynge. 6 not. 0 vpon.
7 Fol. cxxii. back, col. 1. 8 that.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxvi.] how the sultan threatens the admiral.
501
kiiowyst for sartayne that yf he take the, thou shalte
be hangyd & flayne all quycke,1 and all other that I
se here settynge at this table.'
4 % Of the answere that the admyral of Perce
made to2 the sowdans messanger / and of
the report that he made to2 his mayst[er].
Ca. Cxxxvi.
Hen the admyrall had well harde8 the
sowdans messenger, he begane to smyle,
and sayd 4 to the messenger, 'go and
say to4 thy mayster that I sette no The admiral e*te
thynge by his thretenynge nor by no •uiun^thrwu,
thynge that he can do, nor I wyll not leue for all his JHht ww^wm.
sayenge to distroye, and to take his townee and castelles,
and to sle all them that wyll not byleue in Iesu Chryst,
16 and saye vnto hym fro me that I am not in mynd to
recule6 backe / but by the ayde of god my creature, I
shall go0 and mete with hym so that he shall not need
to tary for me, and I shall fyght witA hym my pusaunce
20 agaynst his to shewe 7 hym how they can do that
bileueth in Iesu chryst / go thy waye & saye to2 thy
mayster that he shall not fynde me fleynge for any fere
that I haue of any man byleuynge in the false &
24 detestable fay the of mahomet* Then the admyrall The admiral gWee
ii, . ,i aii themeieenger
commaundyd to gyue to the messenger mete & drynke, food and twelve
and .xl florencis; the messenger refusyd it not, but °
toke it, and thankyd the admyrall / & when he had
28 dynyd he taryed not nyght nor day tyll8 he came to the he returned to
Oaaa, where wae
citye of Gasere, where as he f ounde the soudan & all the saltan with
100(00u men.
his army, the whiche was a great nombre, for they were
•mo then9 a .CM. men, and all they thretenyd the
1 and neuer see fair© day more. 8 vnto.
8 and vnderetood. 4—4 Tell. 8 retire. 6 come.
T Fol. cxxii. back, col. 2. 8 vntill. *-» omitted.
Digitized by
602
huon of burdeux. [Ca. cxxxviL
The sultan was
MtonUhed at the
■dmiral'i reply,
and swore he
would kill him
quickly.
He orders his
host to march
towards Ksoalon.
deth of y* admyral of Perce / but it is a comune sayng
that many thingis lackethe of folysshe thoughtis, & so
dyd they / when ye messenger was ariuyd at Gasere, he
came before the soudan & made his reporte what 4
answere the admyral had made hym / & when the sou-
dan1 vnderstode the messenger, he had great maruayle
of the great outrage that he thought to be in the
admyral of Perce in that he durste abyde hym, & 8
s ware by his lawe that yf he myght haue the vper
hand of the admyral that be wolde flee hym quicke.
Then he commaundyd his hoste to dysloge & to take
the way towardis Escalonne / y* whiche they dyn. 12
How the admyrall of perce sent his men
that laye at Napelous & causyd them to
drawe* towardes Rames, and how they
departyd fro Ierusalem ; and how he wente 16
to fyght with his enemyes.
Capitulum .C.xxxvii.
Fter that Trampougnifle, the mes-
sanger, was departyd fro Ierusalem 20
and retournyd to his mayster the
sowdan / then the admyrall of Perce
and Huon of Burdeaux, who were in
the palays with the kynge of Ieru- 24
salem / thether they callyd all theyr counsayle ; and
when they were al assembelyd, the admyrall sayd /
The admiral asks ' syrs, I pray you counsayle me what maner I shall vse
myselfe to go and mete with the enemyes of the chrysten 28
the king of
Jerusalem to
beetnto^nertb°W fay the, the whiche are come agaynst vs, therfore
faith.
I desyre eche4 of you to shew me your opynyons
what6 is best to be done.' Then Thybaulte, kynge of
1 had well heard and. 9 with drawe.
* Fol. cxxiii. col. 1. * eueryone. 6 in this case.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxxxviL] of huon's advice to tue admiral. -503
Ierusalem, arose1 and sayd, ' syr admyrall of Perce and King ThyUnit
advieee them to
Mede, we thynke ye shuld not abyde them here / but go and meet the
rather ye ought to departe and to go agaynst your
4 enemyes / for yf ye abyde for them in this citye ye
shal do great damage to this count re, for we haue truse aineehehata
Are yean' truce
with the Sowdan for .v. yerys, the which with our with the saltan,
and cannot in
honour we can not breke / for yf we wolde haue made honour break it.
8 warre agaynst hym, we coude not a2 resystid agaynst
hym / and also we ar far of fro Fraunce to seke
for socoure & ayde there/ Then3 the kyng spake no
more. Then duke Huon of Burdeaux saydo / 'syr
1 2 admyrall, y* kynge of Ierusalem hathe shewyd you the
trouthe / for yf we shuld abyde here, it shulde be
alwayes to our reproche4 yf this holy citye shulde
be lost, the which was wonne by two noble emperours
16 as of Home and of Grece, for the kynge that is here his
honoure sauyd and the suertye of his countre, maye not
breke the truse that he hath taken with the Sowdan of
Babylon / and therfore myne aduyse it5 that as sone as
20 we may commaunde your men that be at Na6pelous Huon adrieee that
the men left at
hastely to dysloge and to mete wtt/t you at Karnes / Nabious be com-
and then when ye haue somwhat refresshyd your hoste, Qp their camp
then set forwarde towardys your enemyes / as the Juml^ Uwm at
24 kynge of Ierusalem hathe sayd / for it were folly ^t1iei^ub?Irar4
to gyue them leyser to come to far forward / fyrst let JJJJjJJ*
them know how the swordys and sperys of the Percyena
and Medyens can stryke / who somtyme dyd maruayles
28 in armes, wherfore it is reason that they folowe nowe
theyr predecessours ' / when Huon had fynysshyd his
reason / the admyrall and all the7 lordys that were
there laudyd,8 and helde that counsayle good that was
32 purposyd by the kynge of Ierusalem and of Huon /
and then they departyd and retournyd to theyr*
1 vp. 1 haue. * thus. 4 and shame. * is.
6 Foi cxxiii. col. 2. * other. 8 praised.
9 Chambers and.
Digitized by
504
HUON OP BURDECX. [Ca, CXXXViL
Tbt admiral
follows this
takes leara of
the king of
Jerusalem ;
Uuon and
Barnard do
likewise.
On arriving at
Rames they found
the host ready
lodged,
and the next day
the host sets out
for Escsion, to
the great joy of
Huon.
The admiral
arranged his
army thus :
the first division
under Huon and
Barnard; the
second led by the
marshal of
Persia; and the
third by the
admiral himself.
He exhorts all
to do their duty
Yaliantly,
and specially puts
his hope in the
strength and
prowess of Huon.
logynge. Then the admyral commaundyd hastely his
hoste to drawe towardes rames, where as he wolde tary
for them / the whiehe thynge was done dylygently /
Jthe host restyd not tyll they came to2 Kamys, where 4
as they founde redy y* admyralles herbygera, who had
redy3 apoyntyd theyr logynges. Thus after that y*
almyrall had wryten to his marshalles of his hoste, he
toke then4 his leue of the kynge of Ierusalem, and in 8
lyke wyse 80 dyd Huon and Barnarde his cosyn, with-
out knowlegyng of hymselfe to the kynge of Ierusalem.
Then they departyd fro ye holy citye, and rode so longe
that they came to the towne of Rames, whereas they 12
founde theyr host redy6 lodgyd. Then they restyd
them there vnto6 the nexte daye / 1then the admyrall
commaundyd7 to dysloge and8 thake the waye toward ys
Escaloune. A goodly e syght it was to se the hoste 16
dysloge / Huon had therof great ioye / for he desyryd
rather to slee the paynymes then to be in chaumbres
with ladies & damosellis ; 9 when they were all in the
feldys the admyrall ordayned his batayles / the fyrst 20
gydyd Huon of Burdeaux and Barnard his cosyn, he
had with hym .xx. M. Persyans ferse and hardy / the
seco?ide batayle led the marshali of Perce with .xx. M.
men5 of good men of warre / the thryd batayle led the 24
admyrall of Perse and of Mede, and with him .xxx. M.
men5 of the most valyantys men of his hoste / 1 when
euery thynge was ordayned as it aparteyned, he went
and vysyted,7 exortynge them to do well theyr 28
deuoyre10 / then he came to2 Huon and sayde. c 0,
ryght11 vertuous knyght, garnysshed and replete with
all prowes / all my hope I put in your strenthe and
vertue of your armis and body / therfore I desyre you 32
1 and. * vnto. 8 alreadie. 4 then after haste.
8 omitted, 6 vntill. 7 them.
8 to make them ready to. 9 Fol. cxxiii. back, col. 1.
10 and prayinge thera to quit themselves valiantly.
11 deare and.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxvii.] of the vast forces of the sultan. 505
this day to shew out your great vertues wherof1 ye
be2 garnysshed / for specyally for ye loue of you and
for your bountye I haue taken & receyuyd the holy
4 baptym, wherof I laud3 our lord god of his grace that
he hathe done to4 me / therfore I desyre you this day
to shewe to4 the sarasyns that your sworde is to be
feryd ' / ' syr/ quod Huon, ' god gyue me grace to be
8 such5 one as ye saye, and to parfourme in me that6
lack e the / and, syr, I truste in me it shall not be let but Hnon trust, the
... , enemy shall hare
that this daye our enemy es shall haue no cause to praise no cause to boast,
nor to make7 host; 8 therfore, syr, let vs ryde forth and is anxious to
ride forward*
12 suerly / for by the grace of god I haue hope that this
daye we shall gyue9 our enemyes so moch a do that
they shall haue scan te 10 11leyser to graunte4 vs the
vyctory ' / and12 as ye admyrall and Huon wasia thus As they talked.
" " ' * " they saw the sun
16 deuysyng together, they sawe before them a fare of the lose his clearness,
and marvelled
ayre waxe thy eke, and that the sonne lost his clerenes, much;
wherof they had great maruayle, by cause they sawe14
the sonne shyne so fayre & clere there ; as they were
20 16anone they parseyuid that the darkenes rose by reason it was by reason
of the dust rysynge of the horses of theyr enemies, who the horses of their
were hastely comynge toward es them to haue taken •nemiM'
them in theyr logynge, wherby they came all out who, trusting
to their vast
24 of order / trustynge all in theyr great nombre of mew, numbers, were
for they were mo then a .CM. ; ferfull it was to se out^Mdw*
the?M comynge / so faste they rode, that the one hoste
myght well se the other / when Huon had well parsey uyd
28 them and sawe theyr demenoure and dysorder,1* sayde
to4 y® admyrall / 'syr, well ye qught to prayse our
lord 17Iesu chryst,17 for this day he shal brynge your
enemyes into your handis to sle them at your pleasure ;
32 therfore, syr, I counsayle 18 that incontynente 19 in
I wherwith. 1 are. 8 and praise. 4 vnto. 8 a.
6 which. 7 their. 1 and. 9 make. 10 scarce.
II time and. u now. 13 were. 14 a little before.
18 Fol. exxiii. back, col. 2. 16 hee. god.
18 you. 19-19 we hasten and.
Digitized by
506
HUON OF burdeux. [Ca. cxxxviL
Haon adrtsM
an immediate
attack upon the
enemy;
It is easy to
discomfort them
while they are in
each confusion.
The admiral gires
the word to
adrance.
When the saltan
sees the host of
the Persians
adrancing,
he desires to set
his armies in
Then steps forth
tits admiral of
Dorbrye. great
and horrible to
behold.
He rode a mare
with a horn iu
her forehead.
The admiral
seemed rather a
fiend of hell,
and all made way
as he came to the
saltan.
The admiral
advises to meet
the enemy at
he boasts he ct
■lay them all.
haste19 sette vpon them to the entente that they shal
haue no1 leyser to assemble together to brynge themselfe
in good order / yf we do thus it is no dought, but by
the grace of god, we shall shortely dyscomfyte them or8 4
they be assembelid.' ' Syr/ quod the admyrall, 4 your
opynyon is good and resonable / let it be done as
ye haue deuysid ' / then the admyrall commaundyd y*
marshalles & capetayns of his hoste to march e forwarde 8
his batayles agaynste his enemyes / 8 then trompettys
and tabours4 began to sown, that it was maruayle to
here them / 8 then they set on towardis theyr enemyes /
when the Sowdan and they of his hoste sawe the 12
Persyans comyng agaynst them redy rengyd in batayle /
then 5 he callyd to * hym his kyngis and admyrallys,
who were .xv. in nombre, and said to6 them / * syrs, it
were good that our men restyd styll a season, that we 1 6
myght order and renge our batayles / for yonder we
maye Be 7 our enemyes comynge ' / Then stepte forthe
the admyral of Dorbrye, who was orryble & great to
behold, 8 he was .xv. fote of heyghte, and rode on9 a 20
goodly splayed mare, the most fayrest and greatest that
euer was sene, she had a great home in her f orhede / yf
she were anythynge chafyd none durste aproche nere*
her but alonly her kepar / this admyral was fowle and 24
great, he rather semyd a f ende of hell then any humayne
creature / 8 when he came to* the Sowdan euery man
made hym way / then he said to* the Soudan, ' syr, I
haue great maruaile of the that thou art so affrayed for 28
a small nombre of men / who are comynge towardys
theyr dethe / syr, knowe for trouth that or2 ye can
order your men in 10to good10 araye, I shall dyscomfyte
your enemyes and delyuer to* you the admyrall of 32
1 time nor. * before. 8 and.
• Drummea. 6 omitted. 6 vnto. 7 well.
8 FoL cxxiiii. col. 1. 9 vppon.
lo-w battaile.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxxxviii.] op the opening op the battle.
607
Perce other quycke or dede' / when the Sowdan1
vnderstode the admyrall of Dorbrey, he sayd / 'eyr
admyrall, I put al the conducte of myne hoste into Theeniun
, , Ai i. therefore putt the
4 your handys / I haue great anyaunce in the vertue that conductor hie
. . i . ,i * / xi_ hoetintothe
is in you, and in the strenthe of your armys / the hands or the
whiche ar greatly to be feryd* / then the Sowdan Dorbrye.
commaundyd all his host to set on2 theyr enerayes, and
8 sayd / ' syn3 the admyrall of Dorbrey is with me I fere
no man of Perse nor4 Mede/ & so sporyd his horse
without makyng of any good order.
% Now speke we of the great batayle that
12 was in the playnes of Raines betwene the
Sowdon of Babilon and the admyrall of
Perce / the whiche was discomfited by
the prowes of Huon of Burdeaux.
16 Ca. Cxxxviii.
Hen Huon, who led the fyrat batayle of seeing the
Saracens advance
the Perseans, beheld and sawe how tudieorder,
the Sarasyns came on wit/tout any
good ordre or conducte, he sownyd his Hnon sounds hie
trumpet*, end
trompettes, exortynge his men to do hastens forward,
well,0 and commaunded his constables and marsh alias to
hast7 forward, and so dyd the Admyrall ; 8 his company
24 and they ioyned nere one to a nother to the entente Joined by the
admiral's
eche of them to socoure other; when Huon saw his company,
enemyes aproche, and that it was tyme to set on9 / he
commaundyd his archers and crousbowes to shote, 9 SO Huon commands
28 they dyd, that by reasone of ye shotynge of bothe c^Doraento
perteyse it semyd lyke a clowde, so10 that there by and andw they do
with" duste togyther it darked the lyght of y< sonne ; 2
8 then Huon couchyd his spere and ranne at hym that 2jow^thelr
1 had well heard and. 2 vpon. 8 seeing. 4 of.
* Fcl. cxxxiiit. col. 2. 6 and valiantly. 7 march.
8 and. • vpon them. 10 omitted. 11 the.
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Google
508 HUON OF burdeui. [Ca, cxxxviii.
Hoon runs at the bare the soudaiis standder, who was comynge before all
eultan't standard*
r with lua the other to cause his compayne to folowe the faster ;
Huon gaue hym suche a stroke with his spere that
throw, wm. he persyde hym1 thorowe the body so that he fell fro 4
his horse 2 with ye standard, wherof the Sarasyns were
abasshyd and sore8 dyspleasyd / then they aprochyd to
reyse vp agayne theyr baner / but Huon and the
Perseans encounteryd them fersly so4 that many were 8-
slayne on both parties / he that had sene Huon howe
and Mils so many he alewe and bet downe the Sarasyns and paynymes,5
Saracens that
they doubt if wolde haue sayde that he was no mortall man / but
Hoon be mortal.
rather a man of the fayrey, for the great prowes and 12
maruayles that he dyd / for he causyd the paynyms,
whether they wolde or not, to recule backe and to
forsake the baner 6lyenge on6 the erth / for or7 he
h« slew are kings departyd8 thense he slewe .v. kyngis & .ii. admyrallis / 16
and two admirals j
and he and Huon was so feryd that there was none so hardy 9 durst
Barnard are so
greatly feared aproche nere to hym / 10al8o 11 Barnarde his cosyn11 was
hardly dare greatly to be feryd, and he euer folowed Huon as nere
approach him, ^ ^e C0U(ie / then there ioynyd y* batayles of the 20
marshallys / and the admyrall of Perce set vpon the
thdba\u"uJat iu 80W(*ans k^y*6 / then10 the batayle began so orryble
ukehw not been and great12 that a .C. yerys before was13 sene none
suche ; 14 valyawtly dyd the admyrall of Perce and 24
when the sultan suche as were in his company / when the Soudan sawe
saw his men so
slain, he curses his men so slayne, he was15 sorowfull,w & sayd to17 the
the time that he _ . _
put faith in the admyrall of Dorbrey, 'I may well curse the daye
DoTblJe.0 & tyme that I beleuyd you / for by you I haue lost my 28
baner, and I se my men slayne / for and18 I had
orderyd my batayle before / this myschefe had not
happyd / nor that19 is aparant to fall / 10 then the
1 cleane. 8 Fol. exxiiii. back, col. 1.
8 sore be/ore abasshed. 4 so before fersly.
* Paynyms and Sarasyns. •— • that laye vpon. 7 before.
8 from. * that. 10 and. «-» his Cozen Barnard.
12 great before horrible. 13 were. 14 so. u right
10 and sore displeased. 17 vnto. 18 yf. 19 which.
Digitized by
Ca, cxxxviii.] of huon's prowess* 509
Soudan couchyd his spere and strake therwith a knyght
who was great mayster of the howse of Perce, in suche
wyse that the sowdan ran hym clene thrughe, and so The raiun does
great damage,
4t he seruyd the second, thyrde, and fourth, and when his
spere was broken, he drewe out his sworde and dyd
therwith great 1 damage; great cry and noyse was and when the
made when the batayles ioynyd / there myght a2 bene there u much
8 sene many horse rynnynge abrode in the f elde traylynge
theyr brydellis after them, and theyr maysters lyeng in and many perish
the felde a monge the horse fete, and3 orryble thynge feet*
it was to se and to here y6 playntys4 and cryes that the
12 woundyd men made amonge y6 horse fete, hauyng
no power to releue themselfe, but there dyed and
fynysshed theyr dayes myserably ; great cry made the
sarasyns and Persyans that fought together, and
16 specyally where as Huon fought & serchyd the rankes,
and brake the great presys, he bet downe and con-
foundyd all that came before hym / so that none
durste abyde before hym / for by that tym he had
20 slayne vi of the kyngys and .v. admyrallis, besyde
many other / so that the noyse and crye cam to the
herynge of the admyrall of Dorbrey, who dyd great
dystruccyon amonge the Persyans, so that it was an
24 orryble thynge to se5 / and when he harde how that The admiral of
J ' Dorbrye, hearing
there was a knyghte that dyd great damage,6 and had ofHuon'spro-
1 * great, desires to
slayne dyuers kyngis and admyralles / he said to7 a meet him,
paynyme who had broughte 8 those 9 newes / ' go thy
28 waye and shewe me10 hym11 that hathe done vs so great
damage* / 'syr/ quod the paynym, 'I shall shewe12 you
hym 10 / but I wyll aproche to hym no nerer then I am
nowe ; ye may se hym10 yonder how he fyghtethe / and J^2JJctnt to
32 makethe our men to recule18 backe,14 for there is none so the admiral.
1 Fol. ozziiii. back, col. 2. * haoe. 8 a.
4 complaints. 6 and behold. 6 and hurt among them.
7 vnto. 8 vnto hira. 9 tidings and. 10 omitted.
11 vnto me. 12 him vnto. 13 retire.
14 from him.
Digitized by
510 HUON OP burdbux. [Ca, cxxxviiL
when the admiral hardy that dare aproche nere1 hym ' / then the gyaunt
beheld Haon, he
•pan on hi* mere. benelde Huon and saw how he made the paynymes to
recule2 backe / then he stroke his mare with the3
sporys. 4 Huon, who well parsayuyd6 hym comynge, 4
Haon does not feryd hym; howbeit, he refasyd hym not / but cam
him. with his sword in his hand6 7agaynst 8 then the paynym,
then8 the sarasyn, who bare a great hache in9 his
necke, sawe Huon comynge / 4 strake at hym, but as 8
god wold,10 he myst hym, for yf the stroke had lyght
The »dmirai knit vpon hym he had bene slayne / the stroke lyght vpo»
Huon'e hone,
the crope of his horse, so that the horse fell downe dede
and Huon on9 his backe; and he was not so sone 12
•ndHfte Huon releuyd but that the gyant toke hym by the harneys11
on to the neck & caste hym before his sadell as lyghtly as thoughe
of his mare, % , * °~
and the admiral, it12 had bene but a f ether, and so he helde and caryed
Jn^nhandTn Huon with y' one hand and fought with the other 16
lihw. Wlth ^ hande / when Huon felte hymselfe so taken he cryed18
S^aTk^ood" VP071 our lor<i g0(* & prayed hym to haue petye14
hiihwIfe.Pltyon of Esclaramond his wyfe, for he saw well his lyfe was
detennyned / the gyaunte who wasu ioyfull in that he 20
had taken Huon who had done the sarasyns so moche
The admiral damage / he desyryd to fynde the Sowdan to make
desires to present
Huon to the hym a present of Huon / so that with the hast that he
made he strake his mare, and she began to lepe and 24
gaumbaulde, and began to rynne ; and, as fortune was,
bat the mare, 8he ran amowge the broken sperys and dede men that
running among
the spears and lay on the ground so that she stombelyd, 16 so that
men that lay on J ° J
the ground, she18 knelyd to the erthe / and the gyante thought to 28
stumbles, and the
giant fails. haue releuy d her / but he coude not by reason of the
weyghte that laye vpon her necke / 17 so that17 she was
1 vnto. 2 retire. s his. 4 and.
6 and saw.
• then. 7 Fol.'cxxr. col. 1. *-* the Sarazin, and the.
• vppon. 10 haue it u armour. u he.
13 and called. 14 and compassion. u right.
w— io and thereby.
17-17 and by the great swiftneese of her running.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxviii.] how huon slays the giant op dorbrte. 511
fay lie to fal downe to the erthe / when Huon saw1 that,
he was lyght and quycke, and rose vp on his fete / and Hnon quickly
A rleee to his feet,
when he sawe the gyaunte fallen downe & began
4 to releue / he hastyd hym and lyfte vp his sworde
with bothe his handys and gaue the gyaunt such a feiia the giant
, _ _ _ , , _ ° _ , . , _ ^ to the earth with
stroke on2 the helme that he claue his hede to the hie sword,
brayne so8 therwith he fel4 dede to the erthe / and
8 then Huon sesyd2 the mare by the rayne6 and lepte and leape on hie
vp6 vp 7 on her and had great ioy, and so had the
Persyans / and the admyrall had great ioye, for it had o«*t lyhejoyof
bene shewyd hym howy* gyaunt had taken Huon / and
1 2 was scapy d and had slay ne the gyaunte / when Huon
felt hymselfe on2 the stronge mare, he dasshyd in Ontheetrong
mare Huon
among the paynyms8 and met with the kynge of dMhes in among
_ , 0 . the p*ynlma,
Olyfarne, whom he gaue suche a stroke that he claue andmeeuand
16 his hede asonder; then he ran at the admyral of olyfarne!111* °f
Orcaney, who was brother germayn to9 y* sowdan, he
gaue hym suche a stroke on the sholder that he strake He feiu the
" admiral of
of his arm, so that it fell4 to the erthe shylde and all ; 10 orcaney to the
20 when the admyrall felte hymselfe hurte,11 wolde haue groun<L
fled a waye / but Huon, syttynge on2 the mare who
was the swyftest 12 horse of 12 the world, ran after him,
& when Huon had ouertaken y* paynym,18 he gaue Ae he trie* to flee,
24 hym suche a stroke on2 the hede that he claue it to his and kiiie him.
tethe, & so 14 fell downe dede to the erthe / wherby the
paynyms15 were so af rayed that after that they durst
not assemble together ; this was shewyd to y* sowdan when the «utan
taw how many
28 how the gyant was slayne and .v. other kyngis and hold knights were
admyralles, and his brother also slayne / and all by the "iTone man* and*1*
hand is of one knyght / and also he sawe his batayle b^ntoliie*
sore broken and how they began to fle, wherfore he lithe*
32 saw well that yf he taryed there longe he shuld be iUinortoken-
1 and well perceiued. 1 vppon. 8 that. 4 downe.
6 of the bridle. 6 omitted. 7 Fol. cxxv. ool. 2.
8 and Sarazins. 9 vnto. 10 and.
u and wounded, he. 11 of paw in all. 13 Sarazin.
14 hee. 15 and Sarazins.
Digitized by
512 huon op burdbux. [Ca. cxxxviii.
Th« king of other alayn or taken / then the kyng of Antiopheney.
Antiopheney, a J ' J ° r j*
ne«r r«utive, who was nere parent to ye sowdan, came to1 hym and
counsels blip to
flee; sayd / ' syr, thynke2 to saue thy lyfe, for yf thou tary
longe here there is none can saue the / for yf the 4
knyght that is with the admyrall of Perce hap to cow
hether thy lyfe is lost, therfore I counsayle the to
departe and saue thy selfe / elles thou art hut dede.'
and the roitan, then the sowdan 8 with a8 .xx. with hym departyd and 8
with twenty men, * r y
departs towards toke the waye by the se syde to go towardys 4 Acre,
Acre, which _ . "
belongs to the the whiche as then partaynyd to1 ye sarasyns, and
Huon, mounted Huon, who was mountyd on5 the pusaunt mare, betyng
ma^beat^down downe his enemy es so that none durste abyde his 12
Mdnomcan strokys ; and the admyrall of Perce folowynge him,
abide his strokes. regar(jynge ft^t by y* hye prowes of Huon his enemyes
were confoundyd6, and sawe well howe7 there was no
humayne body that had any powre to resyst agaynst 16
hym8 without deth / then he sayd to1 his lordys and to
, Barnarde / ' syrs/ quod ye admyral, ' yonder before you
ye may se maruayles and thyngis incredeble to be
declaryd / for ye may se there is none so pusaunt9 thai 20
can resyst agaynst my frende Huon / 10wolde to god7
The admiral he were vnmaryed / then he shulde neuer departe fro
withes that Huon ,
could always stay me, for I wolde then gyue hym my dough ter; 11 I shall
be so 12 sore dyspleasyd13 when he shall depart fro me ' / 24
thus as ye haue herd the admyrall of Perce14 sayd to1
his company, and so sleynge and betynge downe the15
The admiral and sarasyns that fled / th« admyrall and Barnard folowyd
Barnard follow w , . , , , , ,
Huon, Huon, but by reason of his good hors he was so 28
hug^llorse^he far before them that they coude not ouertake hym, for
MMnii he desyryd nothyng so moche as16 to ouertake the
suitan^6 U>* sowdan, who was fleynge as fast as he myght towardys
the citye of Acre / when the admyral sawe that he 32
1 vnto. * how. *-s and about
* Fol. cxxv. back, col. 1. 6 vppon. 6 and discomfited.
7 that. 8 and escaped. 9 and strong. 10 I.
u in mariage. " verie. 13 .and discomforted.
14 and Media. 15 Paynims and. 10 he did.
Digitized by
Ca. cxxxviiL] of huon's meeting with the sultan. 613
coude not ouertake Huon, then he and Barnard enteryd
in amonge the sarasyns who were fleynge away; the
ad my rail and Barnarde slewe & bet them downe that1 The admiral and
a • o . 11 Barnard slay the
4 petye it was to se 2 / for wttA the blode of y9 dede fleeing Saracens,
8 sarasyns theyr swordys were all4 tayntyd red; yf I
shuld shewe all the hye prowes 6 that was6 done there
that daye, it shuld6 be ouer longe to reherse / but
8 I dare well saye that by the great prowes of Huon the and, owing to the
* great proweM of
batayle was vanquesshyd and clene dyscomfytyd / the Huon, the enemy
' '' is vanquished*
7Percyans chasyd the sarasyns and paynyms8 and
slew an[d]9 10 bet them downe, the chase enduryd more
12 then .iiii. legis / and the admyrall had great maruayle
that he coud not ouertake nor here no11 thyng of Huon /
who chasyd styll the sowdan & folowid hym so longe
that Huon found the sowdan12 alone / for his men coud At last Huon
, _ comes up with the
16 not folowe hym so fast for13 theyr horses wer so wery sultan;
that they coude14 go no16 further / y* sowdan rode on16 men being unable
a pusaunt17 horse / and Huon, who folowed hym on 16 MmTPUpwilh
the pusaunt mare, anone ouertoke hym / 18 when he came
20 nere to the sowdan / he sayd, 1 0 thou 19 sowdan, great
shame20 thou maiest haue when thou fleest thus81 away
all alone without11 company, tourne thy shylde agaynst Huon challenges
the sultan to
me or elles I shall sle the fleynge.* when the sowdan22 fight.
24 harde Huon he had great 28 fere 28 / for he knew well it
was he by whome he had24 so great losse,25 and by
whome so15 many kyngis & admyrallis had bene slayn,
and thought to hymselfe yf he tournyd28 not27 he
28 shulde be slayne, wherfore he toke corage to hymselfe, The sultan takes
seynge that Huon was alone as well as he, and also he Hucmfu alone*
also.
1 great 2 and behold them. 8 Paynimi and.
4 all after taynted. 6 ~^ and raaruailous deedes that were.
• would. 7 Fol. cxxv. back, col. 2.
8 Paynims before Sarasyns. • add in text. 10 did.
11 any. « all. u because. *• not 15 omitted.
16 vppon. 17 and a goodly. 18 and. 19 traiterous.
30 and reproach. n thus after away. 28 had well.
28— 28 maruaile and was greatly feared. 24 received.
26 and damage. 24 returned. 27 that.
CHARL. BOH. VIII. L L
Digitized by
huon of burdeux. [Ca. cxxxviii.
thought that it shulde not be longe or1 he were
socourid with some of his men that folowyd hym,
& therfore, lyke a hardy knyght, he tournyd his horse
They run fiercely hede towardis Huon / who fersly ran together2 & gaue 4
together, and had '
not the sultan eche other great strokys, but it had bene 8 but a 4 small
been rescued by
his men, he profyght 6to the sowdan and5 he had not bene rescued
perished. by his men, for6 Huon had elles4 slayne hym / but
thether came a7 .xl. knyghtys sarasyns, and they al ran 8
at Huow / who was sore9 abasshyd when he saw hym
selfe so enclosyd with his enemyes ; how beit he myght
haue sauyd hymselfe welynowe yf he had lyst to
Huon, sore haruel fled awaye / but for any fere of them he wolde 12
•bashed, will not L J «, , , , . lft _
nee, and deals his not fle, but9 he delte suche strokys 10amonge them that
them} *m°ng there was none so hardy that durste aproche nere11 hym,
great slaughter so sore they feryd hym / for he strake none with a full
follows* " * '
stroke but that his hede was clouen to the bray ne 12 / 16
when they sawe13 they coude not take nor sle hym,
they were14 sorowful15; then the sowdan cryed and
sayd, ' syrs, on4 vpon hym, great shame it is to11 you all
when by the body of one man ye are so put backe, and 20
The saltan tells ye Re wel18 he hathe no socoure / go and sle the mare
his men to slay _ _ _ _ , , . , , ,
Huon's mare, that he rydethe on16 with sperys and dartis / then he
for then he will be - , . , - . -
overcome. shall be sone ouercome / and ye know well13 it is he
by4 whome I haue sufferyd al my great17 damage / it is 24
he that hathe slayne my men, and by hym I haue lost
if they let Huon the batayle / yf he scape 18 you ye ought neuer to be sene
escape them, m
never more ought m any prynces court / when the paynyms19 vnderstode
prin^courtT to theyr sowdan, they then20 sore opressyd Huon, who 28
dyd21 merueyles22, but his pusaunce and vertu shulde23
1 before. 2 one at another. 8 vnto the sowdan.
4 emitted. 6_ * if. 6 if they had not come when they did.
* about. 8 dismayed and. 9 and.
10 Fol. cxxvi. col. 1. 11 vnto.
12 or to the teeth, so that they needed after no Surgeon.
13 that 14 right. 16 and angrie. M vppon.
17 losse and. 18 from. 19 and Sarazins had well.
20 then after they. 21 great. 22 in armea.
23 but
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxxxviil] how huon is hard beset bt the sultan's men. 515
lytell auayle1 bym yf he had not bene shortely* Huon did
marrels, bat his
socoryd /and also by reason of the riche stonys and power would ha*e
. availed little, had
perles that were on3 hyin / then the4 Sarasyns, who of he not been
. suoooured by the
4 .xl. were lefte alyue but .xxviii., they saw well6 they precious stones he
coud not haue8 Huon without fyrst7 they slewe the h*doahim*
mare that he rode on1 : therfore they cast at her dartys The Saraoent
ca*t their darta at
& iauelyns in suche wyse that fynally they slew her Huon's mare,
and Anally slew
8 vnder hym, wherof Huon was8 sorowful9, and was her under him.
10 then in11 fere of his lyfe / then he callyd vpon our Huon, in (ear of
hit life, calls on
lorde Iesu chryst to haue petye12 of his sowle, for our Lord Jew
i , i • i n . i o j , 3 Christ to hart
he sa w that his lyfe was at an ende, & sayd, 'dere pity on him,
12 lord Iesu chryst, I pray the by thy swete marcy to »nd recommenda
haue18 compassyon of my wyfew who is in great parel Httie daughter
Claryet into Qod's
and pouertye for the loue of me without any deserte of aafe keeping,
her part, and also I recommende into thy sauegarde my
16 lytell dough ter Claryet.' After that Huon had made
his prayer to16 our lorde ,6god, he toke his shyld and
his sworde in his hande af ote, and he saw where there
grewe a busshe, he went thether and set his backe Huon tetania
back against a
20 therto that the sarasyns17 shuld not come behynde bush, and so
stands at bay,
hym,18 so he stode at a baye lyke a wylde bore baytyd but not a paynim
oao hurt hia flesh*
with houTidis, there was not so hardy a paynyme19 that
aurst assay le hym / they cast at hym sperys and dartis,
24 but they coude neuer hurte his flesshe, he coueryd
hymselfe so well20 with his shyld that nothynge coud
touche21 hym. The sowdan, seyng that no thynge
coude hurte hym / he sayd to his men, 1 a, ye false18
28 vntrewe cowardis, of mahomet be ye cursyd, when ye
can not slee nor take one man alone' / 18 then the Then the sultan
himself
sowdan approchyd15 Huon and gaue hym a great stroke approached Huon,
1 haue auailed. 2 aided &. 8 vppon.
* Paynims and. 6 that 6 ouercome.
1 first after mare. 9 right. • and sore displeased.
10 as. 11 great 12 and compassion. 13 pi tie and.
14 Escleremond. 16 vnto. 16 Fol. cxxvi. col. 2.
17 and Paynims. 18 and. 19 or Sarazin.
80 and go surely. 21 pierce.
L L a
Digitized by
516
huon of bubdeux. [Ca. cxxxviii.
•nd brok« his go that he brake his sh yld in two peces, wherof Huon
•hteld into two * *
piaow. then was in1 fere of dethe / then the sowdan drew
backe and lokyd behynde hym into the playnes of
Looking behind Kames wheras the great batayle had bene / and then he 4
him, the sultan
perceive* the sawe comynge the admyrall of Perce with .xx. tnou-
with M.ooome^* sande men, and they came to seke for Huon / *when
oominv to Huon • ^e 80Wdan 8awe that 80COUT8 were comynge to8 Huon /
the whiche he knew by reason of the great baner 8
of Perce / then the sowdan sayd to8 his men / 1 syrs,
The ndton then let vs leue this enemye, who by force of armys can not
this enemy, who be4 vanquesshid / let vs saue our lyues, for yonder I se
qoTh^yforee comynge the admyral of Perce / for2 yf we tary longe 12
NesrthemwM here we 6 are all dede6 & dystroyed.' Kere to8 them
iX^ft^UJ«V was y* 866 syde abought a lege fro Iaffe, the way
a°galley waT*7' towardi8 Surrey / there was redy a galey the which the
K^o^Md0" sowdan had sent thether fro the citye of Escaloune / 16
thither rode the {hQ sowdan rode thether: and his men lefte and
sultan. '
Huon, right f orsoke 6 Huon, who was ryght wery and coud not
weary, could not ' JO J
have borne up so longe haue enduryd, nor had not enduryd so longe but
long save for the * "
precious stones for the 7 vertue that was in the rych stones 8 that 20
about him.
were abought hym. The sowdan to saue his lyfe he
The sultan and and his men dyd so moch that they came to the place
his men enter the **
galley, and leave where as the galey was / and enteryd in to it in8 great
their horses on
haste10 for11 sauegarde of theyr lyues, &u forsoke6 24
theyr horses on18 the see syde.
% How the admyral of Perce 14 found Huon,
where as he hadde foughte with .xL men
sarasyns, and howe the sowdan fled to 28
acre / and how the admyral of Perce14
1 great. 8 and. 8 vnto. 4 oueroome nor.
5-6 shalbe all Blaine. 8 did forsake.
1 Fol. exxvi. back, col. 1. • and pearles. • as.
10 as they could by any meanes. 11 the. 18 they.
13 vppon. 14 and Media.
Digitized by
Google
CSL CXUUX.] HOW HUON 18 RESCUED.
517
besegid hym there; and of the1 vysyon
that Huofl had in aa nyght. Ca. C.xxxix.
Fter that the Sowdan was thus fled
and departyd, the admyrall of Perce8 The admiral of
Persia comes to
came to the place where as Huon when Huon is,
was sore wery of trauayle, and saw4 *onw**T7*
abought hym 6laye dede6 a great tha admiral
_ . . marvels at tha
nombre of men slayne, wherof they number of men
had6 maruayle; the admyrall, seynge Huon alone, ^undT^
began7 to wepe for petye and for ioy that he had, and He weeps for joy
sayd, *0 ryght noble8 knyght, moste excellente of all and sings his
1 2 other leuynge in this world, to whome in prowes and vnikm'
valure none can compare9 / ye are the myrour of all
knyghth / the temple of trouthe / the resort 10 of wedo we3
and of6 orphelyns / to whome god hathe geuyn so
16 great11 grace that none can say e 12 the bountye that is
in you / by whome the honure of the Percyans and
Medyens this day is sauyd and kepte / I desyre
you ryght cordeally,18 my dere frynd,14 shewe me yf ye then tte admiral
20 haue any hurt wherby ye shulde be in any paTell'18 / received any hurt,
'syr/ quod Huon, 'it apartaynethe 16 not to17 me to Huon diaciaima
haue suche hye wordys or prayes to be geuen / I wmeeifj
ougbte to haue none other prayse but as one of your
24 other knyghtis, wherof ye haue so many noble and
valyaunte that they can not be noumberyd / but, syr,
know for trouth, this grace and glory cometh of our the success came
' G ° J from Qod alone.
lord god, who hathe aydyd and socoryd you, reportynge
28 how18 ye haue in hym parfite affyaunce' / 19 then the
admyrall alyghtyd, and came and embracyd Huon,
and after20 came Barnarde, sore wepynge for petye21
1 strange. 8 the. s and Media. 4 lying.
*— 5 omitted. 8 great 7 sore. 8 and valiant
9 be compared. 10 comfort 11 rertue and.
18 report. 13 harteljr. 14 to. w or daunger.
16 Fol. cxxvi. back. col. 2. 17 vnto. 18 that.
19 and. 10 him. ,l compassion.
Digitized by
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518 huon op bubdeux. [Ca. cxxxix.
Barnard, wiping and1 ioye that he had founde his cosyn Huon in
for Jo j, kisses his " J
cousin Huon, sauegarde, and came and kyste hym2 .x. tymes, and
who ought to
thank ood and sayd / ' my ryght dere lorde,8 well ye 4 ought to4 thanke
tlie Virgin for i _ _
huTing thus saved 6god °and the blessyd vyrgyn Mary his mother8 who 4
hathe sauyd you fro so many parellous7 aduentures,
wherof I thanke our lorde Iesu chryst that hathe geuen
Huon is feasted you such grace ' / 8 then he was of all the barons greatly
by ail the barons, an(j bad9 maruayle of the parelles and 8
aduenture that Huon had scapyd, wherfore they sayd
they ought greatly to lawde10 god in that Huon was
aryuyd in theyr countre, by whome they were reducyd
11 to 11 the fayth of Iesu chryst. Thus deuysyd the 12
lordis12 amowge themselfe / and behelde the dede men
that lay abought Huon / 8 when they had bene there
a hone is 18 a season and sawe that y* sowdan was fled, then a
w'^'ounuT1' horse was brought to14 Huon, and he mountyd16 / then 16
the p!*« where** *ney departyd16 thence and came to14 y* place wher
been^ought!* 88 J9 hatayle had bene, wheras they founde .lxxiiii.
thousande men dede,17 besyde them that were slayne in
the fleynge in ye chase, wheras there were slayne 20
.xii.M.,18 besyde the presoners great goodes 19 wan ther19
the Parsyans,20 the whiche was departed21 to such as it
The Pendens were apartained, so that they were all made ryche / then the
made rich by the
booty. admyrall 22 and Huon departed fro the playns of Karnes, 24
Huwnealethe 28 then they went and logyd in the towne / and in the
Md"od^intne mornynge they determynyd to tary there thre dayes to
detoroineto111*7 refres8he them / and on24 the fourthe daye they
torefteehmd*y" departed bycause it was shewed them how25 y' sowdan 28
themseivee. wa8 departed fro Sayre and gone by see with a small
1 for. 2 more then. 8 and Maister. * may.
6 our lord. 4—5 for his goodnesse alwayes towardes you.
7 and dangerous. 8 and. • al great 10 and praise.
lI~M and brought to beleeue in. 18 and Barons. 13 for.
14 vnto. u vppon him and. 16 from.
17 vppon the earth. 18 men.
wan ther after Medians. 20 and Medians.
81 and diuided. 28 Fol. cxxvii. col. 1. 83 and.
24 vpon. 26 that
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Ca. cxxxix.] op the sultan's messages to his allies.
519
corapanye to the citye of Acre. Then the admyrall o« the fourth day
the admiral and
and Huon drew theyr host towardis Napelous, and Huon dww their
there taryed two dayes / 1fro thence they wente to Nabious, where
4 Iene and so to the citye of Nasareth, and visyted that daje.*"7 tW°
holy place, whereas the aungell brought the salutacion jS£^?XSy°
angel yke to the vyrgyn mary. Then fro thence they of N*aar*th#
went to the castell of Iaffet and toke it with assaulte, They assaulted
and took the
8 and slewe all them that were within3 excepte suche as castle of Janet,
wolde byleue in our lord Iesu chryst. 1Then fro
thence they went and logyd within halfe a lege of They put op their
k o i t .-i 1/ i»ni» and pa-
Acre, & there pyght8 vp theyr tentis and pauylyons / ▼iiionshaifa
12 and when they were all logyd / ther foragers ran fort^erTb^^ht1
abrode and brought to the hoste great plente of food to hmU
vytayles / oftentymys they skyrmysshed before the They skirmish
* i -r* . i i i a * t before the city,
cete of acre / But they kowde neuer4 iynde man nor but the sanoem
-•/I At a i a • i -i 1** are* too frightened
16 woman that durst issu out to do any dede of armes; to venture out fur
there they lay .viii. dayes and no man dyd them any d6•d■ofa^n•*
domag, for the6 sarasyns wer so affray ed for the great
los6 that they had sufferyde, that they durste not
20 stero7 / And the sowdan, who was w/tnin, wrote letters Theeuitan wrote
. a. i i . i . , # / ^ters 10 *" hi»
into al his countres, as wel in to Arrabey / Egypt / countries, as well
and8 Barbarye / & Europe, and9 to al10 hys frendys, ^ptBarbary
that they wolde come and socoure hym in11 his nede; Kurop6» for
24 he sent dyuers messengers bo the by londe and by see, Messengers are
also he sent in to anthyoche & in to Damas, & to sea?e^en*to
al other places where as he thought to haue any12 Antiochand
socoure / and on 13 a day two foragers of the admirallis Two foragers of
28 14 went forthe on13 the see seid, and they found by the the sultan's
way trampoignifle the sowdans messenger / they toke sea-side,
and brought hym in 8 to the hoete8 to the Admyrals ti^ ad^rai'™ *°
tent, and ther he was examynyde and hys letters taken UnL
32 fro hym, the which were sene and red befor the
1 and. 1 it 8 pitcht 4 neither. 8 paynims and.
6 and dammage. 7 nor make any semblance.
8 omitted. 9 as. 10 other. 11 at 18 any ayd or.
18 vpon. 14 Fol. cxxvii. col. 2.
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Google
520
HUON OF BURDBUX. [Ca. CXXXiX.
His letUrs art
read, and thus the
admiral and Huon
learn the sultan's
They hang the
messenger on a
g.dlows In flight
of Ute sulUn.
The admiral
luramoiii the
barunt to his
tent,
and bid them take
counsel together
at to the manner
of continuing the
They are to give
their answer ou
the morrow.
At night all go to
rest except those
who have charge
of the watch.
Hnon spent the
night in the
admiral's tent,
and In his sleep
a vision came to
him.
He thought he
was at If ayence
in person, and
saw the Emperor
of Germany take
Esclaramonde out
of prison, and
admyrall and huon / the whiche when they herde yt and
the content therof, ther by they knew sumwhat of y*
sowdans counsayle / then they toke the messanger and
brought hym before the citye of Acre, and made there 4
a payre of galowes, and hangyd vp the messanger in1
the syght of the sowdan and of them2 within the citye /
the same day the admyrall assemblyd his9 baron**
in his tente, & sayde to4 them / 1 syrs, all ye that be 8
here assemblyd, knowe that I haue great desyre to
knowe what thynge is6 to be done, and how we shall
vse our selfe in this warre that we haue begonne / ye
knowe wel the victory that, by the grace of 6 god6 and 12
by the7 prowes of Huon, that8 we haue* obtayned and
haue here our enemye enclosyd, who can not fle
without10 it be by the see / therfore I desyre you all
that eche11 of you wyll shewe your aduyse what is to 16
be done / and that to morowe at12 this owre18 to geue
me an answere /, then al the lordisu aduysyd together,
and so among them was dyuers opinyons and reasons,
howbeit they departyd euerymaw to his15 owne logynge, 20
by cause they had daye of answere;16 the nexte day
folowynge / thus y* daye passyd without any thynge
done, and at nyght euery man wente to reste / excepte
suche as had the charge of the wache that nyght / who 24
went not to bed, as is the17 custume of the warre.
Huon taryed all that nyghte in the admyralles tente,
and aboughte the owre of mydnyght Huon dremid
in his slepe, & thought 18 that he was at Maience in 28
presone, and saw the emperoure of Almayne take
Esclaramonde his wyfe out of presone / and she semyd
to4 hym pale and lene and yl coloryd / and how she
was in her kyrtyl, and her heyr hangynge aboute her 32
1 within. 2 there. 8 Lordes and. 4 vnto.
6 best 4-4 our Lord Iesus Christ T bye.
8 omitted. 9 now. 10 except 11 euerie one.
11 Hbout 13 time. 14 and Barons. 14 their.
14 and. » order and. *> Fol. cxxvii. back, col. 1.
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Ca. cxxxix.] op huon's vision, 521
shulders / and .x. men ledynge her out of the towne to cause ten of hit
men to lead her
be brente1 / and he thought2 she made petuous com- out or the town
to be burnt ;
playntea for Huon her husbaynd and for claryet her
4 doughter. 8 Also he thougth he saw passe thrugh y*
stretes .ccc. gentyll men who had bene takyn at
Burdeaux when the cytye was takyn / and he thought2 *nd a gallows
, , , , , ^ prepared on which
he sawe dyuers galowes made, and how the Emperoure to hung soo
_ _ gentlemen taken
o had sworne to hange them all / so that he thought he at Bordeaux.
was4 sorowful6 to se that company ledde to* the7
deth warde8 / for in his slepe he thougth verely all this
had bene trewe, and that he coude not helpe it. Thus
12 as Huon was in this payne slepyng, he gaue an horryble Huon awoke with
crye / so that y* Admyrall and Barnarde awoke ther- the admiral and
Barnard wake
with in hast / thynkyng it had bene theyr enemyes2 hastily, deeming
had enteryd to haue slayne them / then they herde § RSD%
16 Huon say, *0 good lord, I pray the9 by thy pyte and They hear Huon
« • , * / 1 , praytotheLord
grace to socoure & comforte my good wyfe / for sertenly to succour hi«
I can not tell, but my harte Iuggyth10 / that the false
emperoure wyll cause her to dye and all y* other
20 presoners.' Then the Admyrall and Barnard rose
vp and came to11 Huon, and had well harde his when they hear
the cause of
complayntes, and sayd / 'A, syr, dyscomfort not Huon/s distress,
your self nor gyue no fayth nor credence to dremes / that iu^ou?!™
24 for the emperoure wyll neuer do suche a velany as to So^wclm^t
put to deth so noble a lady / it is nothynge but your b,*lv*n*
thought and remembrance that ye haue dayly, the
whiche in the nyght representy th before you slepynge ' /
28 ' A, syr,' quod Huon, 1 1 can not beleue 12 but that my Hnon it troubled,
wyfe hath sumwhat to do / Alas, to longe 18 1 tary13 only st an end
here / but yf your war re were at an ende I wolde g^hu way!* ^
gladly go my way / for I shall neuer haue ioye at my
32 harte tyllu I maye knowe the troughs' Then they
i burnt 2 that 8 And. « right.
6 and sore greeued in his mind. 9 towardes. T their.
8 omitted. 9 euen for thy Sons sake and. 10 thinketh.
11 vnto. u Fol. oxxvii. back, col. 2.
»-» haue I taried. >« vntill.
Digitized by
522
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. ciL
The council
MMmblM in the
admiral's tent.
The marshal
announce* they
will say not a
word until Huon
shall hare giren
The admiral begs
Huon to show
what he thinks
it best to be done.
arose, for it was day, xand then eueryman arose / and
the oure come that all the2 counseyll assembled8
togyther in the admyralles tente / And euery man sat
downe on4 benches well coueryd with cloth of golde 4
and other ryche clothes of sylke / 6 when they were
there assembled / the marahall rose vp,6 he was a ryght
sage and a7 wyse man, and sayd / ' Syr Admyrall, we
haue comonyd togyther and debatyd y* mater at lenth, 8
and we haue had dyuers opynyones, but we be all
concludyd to say nothynge tyll8 that Huon, who is
therby you, hath fyrst9 shewyd his opynyone what he
thynkethe10 to be done / for it is11 resone that he be 12
harde fyrst12 to spoke' / 6 then the Admyrall beheld
Huon, and sayd / ' my dere frende, ye here what my
lorde818 hath concludyd togyther / and how they all
resteth vpon you that fyrst ye shall say your aduyce, 16
wherfore I requyre you for the loue of 14 god / 15ahew
me what I ought to do as ye thinke best.'
Huon gives his
advice.
% How Huon of Burdeaux counseylyd ye
admyrall of Perce to reyse vp his sege 20
before acre, for dyuers resones, and to
retorne in to Perce. Ca. C.xl.
Hen Huon had well vnderetorcd the
Admyrall, and that he had16 hard the 24
lordes18 that theyr opynyons was that
they wolde not speke till8 he had
fyrst shewyd his17 opynyon, then he
sayd 18to19 the Admyrall, 'syr, yf it be youre plesure 28
I owght not to be gyn fyrst, this reason for ye haue
1 and the appointed houre was come before k euerie man.
1 Lords of the. 8 should assemble. * vppon. 6 and.
• for. * omitted. 8 vntill. • first after shewed.
10 is best 11 good. 18 first after to speke.
13 and Barons. 14 our Lord. 16 to. 18 well.
17 aduise and. 18 Fol. exxviii. col. 1. 19 vnto.
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Ca. Cxi.] HOW HUON LONGS TO RETURN TO FRANCE. 523
many lordis can better speke in this matter then I, hut
syne1 it is youre plesure and theres, I shall shewe2
yow shortly myn aduys, and as I wold do if I where
4 as yowe be;'8 then* Huon of Burdeaux sayd / 'syr
admyrall of perce & of mede, it is a longe season sin ye since they here
departed fro youre contre londys and syngnoryes, and from Persia, and7
not without great trauaile and great5 payne, and that
8 god haue done you that grace that with 6 an armeri6 al
ye haue passed, & taken castels, & haue alayne and hare *> far been
successful, and
dystroyed the cou[n] treys & men of the sowdans of
baby lone and7 egyp / and haue bene at the holy cetye
12 of Ierusalem, the whiche is in the myddes of his
countre /-and after that the sowdan hath fought with
you with people innumerable, whom ye haue dys-
counfyted, and slayn8 all they that were with hyra.
16 And also god hath gyuen you grace that ye ar sauely have escaped with
skapyd with lytyll losse9 / and none ye haue in this
cytye before vs besegyde and inclosyd in ye sowdan
your enymy / who nyght and day doth emagen how he
20 may recouer his losse, as ye may well knowe by his
letters sent by his messyngers / y* whiche ye haue
sene and red the contynue10 of y* same. And, syr, ye
may well thynke that he hathe sente dyuers other
24 messengyra as well by londe as by see to his frendys to
seke for socoure and11 ayeyd, in the entencyon to be
reuengyde of you, wherfore I counseyll you, syn12 ye
be so farre of fro your countre, as shortly as ye can they had better
„ , ,„ , - raise the siege of
28 to departe fro thence13 and to royse your sege and Acre, and return
into their own
retorne m to your owne countre / your men be wery country as quickly
and sore trauelyd / 14 the Sowdan is in his owne countre / The sultan can
and16 he wyll alwayes assemble 16 great nombre of ^Tmwwd1'
32 peopell / and alwayes he may haue socoure and vy teylles, tood*
1 seeing that 1 rnto. 8 are. 4 Duke. 6 much,
one armie. 1 of. 8 almost 9 or dammage.
10 content*. 11 for. ia seeing. 13 hence.
14 and. u omitted. 16 Fol. cxxviii. col. 2.
Digitized by
524
HUON OP BURDET7X.
[Ca.cxlL
the whiche ye can not do nor haue / for here with1
great payne ye shall 2fynde any* vyteyll / for the
whmu the countre is sore f owllyd and opressyd / & ye can haue no
iMituer. Bocoure fro any parte, wherf ore of necessyte ye most A
departe / the whiche ye may do without any losse.
For ye may passe y* ryuer of euf rates or3 his pepill be
assembled to do you any damage / & when the
They oan return sprynynge* tyme of ye yere cometh, yf it be your 8
if they wiihf plesure, ye may re tome with such nombre of men as ye
shall thynke best / for ye are of pusaunce so to do.
a* long m they Syr, this that I say is for nothyng that I wold forsak or
Srts, 1100^*111 leue you as longe as ye be in this parts; I had rather 12
not forsake them, ^ ^ thougth it be so as ye well knowe / that the
though he greatly thynge that I ought most to desyre is to departe to go
to France. in to 6france,5 where as I haue left my wyffe, my
doughter, and my countre in great pouerte and danger 16
of deth and dystruccyon.'
% How the admyrall of Perce agreed well to
the counseyll of Huon of Burdeaux, and
pryesed his saynge ; & of ye fayr offer that 20
y* admyrall of Perce mad to6 Huon of
Burdeaux. Ca. C.xli.
I Hen the Admyrall had7 hard6 Huon, he
behelde his lordes, and all wepynge, 24
sayd, ' syrs, all ye that be my men, ye
haue9 well herd Duke Huon, who hath
shewyd his aduyce,10 and therfore I
11commaunde and desyre you all to shew me what ye 28
thinke by the sayenge of Huon 9 / then they all with
one voyce sayd / ' syr, a more noble nor12 prof y table
1 without ,-, baue no. 8 before. * spring.
6 my owne countre. • vnto. T well.
8 and vnderetood. 9 all. 10 and opinion.
11 Fol. exxviii. back, col. 1. lx or.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxli.] of the admiral's gbnerocs offer. • 525
counsayle can1 no mortal man geue for your welth and
suertye of your parsone and of vs all / there was neuer
man spake "better. & therfore all we pray and counsayle The lords of
' , Penia pray the
4 you to vpholde the counseyle that he hathe geuen admiral to follow
H uon's advice ;
you' / then the admyrall, seynge2 al his lordis agreed
to the counseyle that Huon had geuyn hym / he sayd /
' svrs, as for me, syn ye are agreed therto, I am redy to u» *&m\n\
Agrees to do so.
8 hyleue all good counsayle / there was neuer a heygher
counsayle geuyn to3 any kynge or prynce ' / 4 when the
admyrall had sayd how2 he wolde hyleue the counsayle
that Huon had geuen hym / he callyd then Huon to3
12 hym, and sayde / ' syr Duke of Burdeaux, the pyller /
shy Id, and sworde of the chrysten fay the, and the
defender of the Perseans / and Medyons / we6 knowe
well that hy ryght I oughte not to kepe you / for6
16 reason is7 that ye retourne thether where as ye were
horne, and to ayde & com forte your trew spowse and
wyfe / for whom ye he in great anoyaunce,8 and not
without cause / and therfore for ye goodnes and honoure
20 that we haue founde in you, we offer to go with you in The admiral
. " offers, acoom-
our owne proper parsone with al our armye, and mo to panied by his
the nomhre inestymahle, and to ayde to reuenge you of go with Huon,
the false emperoure of almayne who hathe done you so rerenge himseir
24 moche yll and damage, or elles yf ye wyll retourne to3 onth#B,npwor'
vs in to Perce at this nexte spryngynge9 tyme we shall
delyuer3 you suche pusaunce, and my selfe to go with
them in to almayne, so that y* valeyes and mountaynes
28 shall be full of people / and we shall do so moche by
the grace of our lorde god that we shall de10liuer the
emperour in to your handis to do with hym11 your
pleasure/ when Huon12 vnderstode the admyrall13 who
32 offeryd him so great an offer,14 sayde / ' Syr, of the
1 can after man. 2 that. 8 vnto. 4 and. 6 I.
8 it is good. 7 omitted* 8 discomfort. 9 spring.
10 Fol. cxxviii. back, col. 2. 11 at
13 had well heard and. 13 Persia and of Media,
" hee.
Digitized by
626
.HUON OF BURDEUX.
[CacxliL
Huon thunki the
admiral for kit
great offer,
bat flrat intends
to try peaceful
menus with the
Emperor*
If he it un-
successful, then
Huon will ask the
admiral's aid and
that of all his
friends.
curtoyse that ye offer me I thanke you with *a good 1
harte: god forbede that I shulde be the causer of
dystruccyon of chrysten blode / fyrst I wyll assaye
with all swetenes and reasonable offers as moche as in 4
me is possyble to do to present & offer2 the emperour /
to y* entent that I niyght8 ateyne to his loue and to
haue pease, the whych tbyng I 4desyre, and wyll4 do
with all my harte ; And yf it be so that he wyll not 8
inclyne nother to ryghte nor resone, then H.6 will come
to you and to2 all other that I knowe or thynke6 to
be7 my frendis, and then desyre you al of8 ayed &
cowiforte.'9 12
If there is need,
the admiral will
stand by the oflei
be has made.
% howe10 huon11 toke12 leue of the admyral
and of 13 the14 lordys of Perce & wente and
toke shyppynge at the porte of thesayre,
and how he ariuyd at marsell without 16
fyndyng of any strange adue#ture.
Ca. C.xlii.
rHen the admyrallw Tnderstode Huon,
he sayde, (my ryght dere17 frend, I 20
c an18 you19 thanke of that you saye /
ye tnaye be sure20 yf ye haue any nede
& that ye can make none apoynt-
mewt with ye emperoure, the offers that I haue made2 24
you, I shall vpholde and socoure you in myne owne
parsone 1 / 4 syr,' quod Huon, ' I21 thanke you, for I am
moche bounde to2 you, wherfore I am yours* / then
the admyrall toke Huon by the hande, & sayde, ' syr, 28
I se well we two muste departe, the which greuethe me
1-1 all my. 2 vnto. 8 may. *— 4 will and desire to.
6 Huon. • thinke before knowe, T of.
8 of your courtesies for. 9 succour. 10 Duke.
" of Bourdeaux. » his. " all. 14 other.
16 Fol. cxxiz. col. 1. 16 had well. 17 and wel-beloued.
18 giue. 19 good. 80 that 81 most hartely.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxlii.] how huon prepares to return to prance. 527
sore / but synne it is thus I must suffer it, lI knowe
well2 ye thynke longe tyll3 ye be gone / the seruys
that ye haue done4 me, I can not recompence it / for our
4 two wayes ar contrary, yours is by water and myne is
by lond : And, therfore, at ye porte of the sare5 there is Huon win And at
J 9 * theportarich
a ryche shyp / the whiche was wonne vpon the sowdans ship won from the
• SUlUUl;
men, I gyue her to you, enter into her at your pleasure, this the admiral
8 and therwith I gyue you .x. somers chargyd 'with ***** *° Huon,
golde, & other chargyd with clothes of golde and
sylke / and ye maye take with you all the Frensshe and he may take
J ' J J J with him all the
men that be in this host, such as folowed vs when we Frenchmen that
are in the host*
12 departyd fro Ierusalem / let them go with you in to
theyr countre / and after that ye be6 departyd I shall
rayse my sego and retourne into Perce ' / ' syr/ quod
Huon, 1 of your gyfte and of your courtoysy I thanke ^Jlr^1Jnk^he
16 you.1 Then the admyrall sente these somers to the gift,
porte of the sare,6 and there al that7 rychesse was8 put
into the shyppe that was8 geuen4 Huon / Uhen he
delyueryd vnto Huon to serue hym al the pylgremes
20 that were there of Fraunce ; and the admyrall gaue The admiral *wet
them ryche gyftys, wherof they were9 ioyful1 of the France rich gifts)
fay re aduenture that was fallen to4 them / for they
hadde 10 more moneye at theyr departynge then they
24 hadde when they came out of theyr ow[n]e countre,
wherof they thankyd the admyrall / and promysyd to they thank the
admiral,
do trew seruyce to4 Huon, and not to leue hym tyll8 and promise not
to leave Huon till
he had achewed all his busynes / Then Huon made hehaaaccom-
. , , .i a /->« ro pliahed hie desire.
28 hym redy, & toke with hym the great Gryffons fote / Huon makes
Hue admyrall, & his constables and niarshallys, and taWnVwithhlm
the other lordis of the hoste, lepte on11 theyr horses and Ul8griffln • tooim
conuaied huon and his companye to the porte of the *n u»« Persians
" m accompany Huon
32 sare,5 where as his shyppe was redy f urnysshyd with to the port,
vyteyle and other thyngys parteynyng therto / then
1 and. * that 8 vntill. * vnto. 6 Thesayre.
• are. T the. 8 were. 9 right
10 Fol. cxxix. col. 2. n vppon.
Digitized by
528
HUON 07 BUBDEUX.
[Ca. cxliL
and there he
take* tare of the
admiral and the
other barons.
The admiral left
Acre, found his
fleet in the rWer
Euphrates, and
sailed into his
own country.
Haon and
Barnard, when
aboard their ship,
weighed anchor,
and sailed
without danger
to Marseilles.
Then Haon gare
the ship to the
master who hsd
brought them
They rest at
Marseilles for
eight days.
Huon,1 wepyng, toke* leue of the admyrall and of the
other8 barouns / for whose departynge they were4
sorowfull, and so retournyd to theyr hoste before Acre /
deuysynge of the great valure, prowes, and courtoysye 4
that was in Huon. Then the admyrall commauwdyd
preuely the nexte mornynge to dysloge and to5 departe /
the whiche was done.
H Thus the admyrall departid fro the citye of 8
Acre and toke his waye towardis Perce / and he founde
on6 the ryuer of Eufrates all his shyppis, and so with
them he saylyd into his owne countre / And Huon and
barnarde his cosyn, and dyuers7 knyghtis and squyers 12
of Frauwce, 8 when they were in theyr shyppe / they
wayed vp theyr ancers and made sayle. Then they
passyd the Goulfe of Sathale / and then passyd by the
rodes and by sardayne / and so longe they say lid 16
without daunger or let that they came and aryuyd at
the porte of Marseyle / 8 there they 9 toke londe9 with
great ioye / and dischargyd the shyp, and then he10
gaue the shyp to the patron that had brought them 20
thether, wherby y* patron was rych & thankyd Huon /
whew they were al a lond, they 11conueyed all theyr
baggage in to theyr lodgynge in the towne, wheras they
restyd an12 .viiL dayes. Nowe let vs leue to speke of 24
Huon and of them that were wi'tA hym, and let vs
speke of the abbot of cluney.
% How the13 abbot of Cluny layde a busshe-
ment of men of armys betwene Mascon 28
and Tournous agaynste the Emperours14
nephue, who was there slayne, and all his
men / wherof the emperoure was so sore
1 all. 8 bis. 8 Lords and. 8 right 8 omitted.
• vppon. T other. 8 and. *~9 went a shoare.
10 Huon. 11 Fol. cxxix. back, col. 1. M about
13 good. 14 of Almaines.
Digitized by
Ca. cxliii.] of the fears of the abbot of cluny. 529"
Hroubetyd that he toke the duches esclara-
mond out of prison to haue brent2 her,
& the .iii.c. prisoners of Burdeaux to haue
4 hawgyd them all. Ca. Cxliii.
e haue well harde in this hystory / how
Barnarde departyd fro y* abbey of
Cluny to go3 serche for his nephue
Huon / and the abbot, seynge that he The abbot of
Cluny waaaor*
coude here no newes of Huon nor of grieved that he
Barnarde his cosyn, who was gone to seke for hym / new.ofHuou
he was4 sore 5displeasyd that he coude haue none other °r^r wdlk
12 knowlege; but the thynge that causyd hym to pas y* The abbot's grief
.i i - rtl , „ wm eaaier to bear
mater the more esyer, was by cause of Claryet, Huons since he kept with
doughter, whome he kepte, and she was all his daughter Clariet ;
com forte / she was so fay re and so swete that none was none was like her
in beauty and
16 lyke her in beauty nor3 in good vertues, and agayne Tinne.
when he rememberyd the duches her mother, Esclara- But the r
b ranee of the
mowd, whome he knewe was in great pouerte and dutrew in which.
her mother waa
mysery, he was therwith so sore dyspleasyd that al his troubled the
20 membres trymbelid. So on6 a day it was reportyd to7 it wa» reported
hym by a notable man that as he cam fro saynt lames the Emperor
and by Burdeaux, howe that a nephue of the emperours B^^xt^m
shoulde go fro Burdeaux to the citye of Mayence, to JSEEVS? *
24 his vncle Tharry the emperoure- of Almayne / & howe SSSswbm
he shuld haue with hym a great nombre of the Pri*>Mr»»
burgesses of y* citye of Burdeaux as presonere, bycause
on6 a daye they spake of Huon theyr naturall lorde /
28 and also how8 he shuld cary with hym the trybute and »ndhotrhe
J * * would carry with
money of the rentys and reuenewes of the countre of him certain
moneys.
Burdeloys, and suche moneye as euery man was bouwde
to pay to7 the emperour: when the good abbot of
32 Cluney was aduerteysyd of the comynge of the
1 vexed and. 3 burnt 3 and.
4 right sorowfull and. 6 Fol. cxxix. back, col. 2.
• vppon. 7 vnto. . 8 that.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. M M
Digitized by
530
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxliii.
emperours nephue, whom lie reputyd as his enemy / he
Thereupon the assemhelid a great nombre of noble men, the most part
nombJrTfmen! * parteynyng to1 the duke of Burgoyne, who as then
was father to Gyrard of Eoosayllon, 2 who as then was2 4
but .iil yere of age / 3 when y* abbot had assemblyd a
and ehooMc the good4 nombre of men / he chose the lorde of Vender to
lord of Vergier to ° ' °
be captain. be capetayne and leder of that company / & then he
sent out his spyes to knowe 6 the sartayne6 which waye 8
He lean* through the emperoure nephue shulde come; 8 at 6 last he had
"hi" mplror^ sartayne knowlege that he was logid at mas7cou, and
nephew wiu take, ^atg ^ ne:Lfo ^aye he shulde departe to Tournous /
8 then the lorde of vergier and dyuers other by the 12
and commend, commaundement of the abbot of Cluny went and layd
the lord of \ .
verier to Ue in theyr busshement betwene mascou and Tournous, in a
ambush*
valey / so that by their spye, who laye on9 a mountayne,
10 saw the Almayns comynge, abought the nombre of 16
11 M. horses / and the lorde of vergier had in his
company aboue .iii M. horses defensably aparaylyd /
they were11 ioyfull when they harde by theyr spye
that theyr enemyes were comynge ; then they aparelyd 20
themselfe to abyde theyr enemyes / who were come so
forwarde that they were past theyr fyrst enbusshement
when the and were enteryd into the valey / when they of the
Germans pass, the
lord of vergier*. fyrst enbusshemeDt and they of the seconde enbusshe- 24
f^Ifthe ambodi, ment sawe theyr tyme, they issuyd out & brake vpon
and in a short theyr enemyes, and made a great crye, so that in12 a
space slay or take
prisoner all their shorte space theyr enemyes and the most parte of them
were alayne, not one that scapyd, but other he was 28
alayne or taken / they coude not saue themselfe by
cause on9 the one syde was the mountayne, & on9 the
other syde the ryuer of some, and before and behynde
theyr enemyes were they them selfe / the same tyme 32
1 vnto. *— 1 being at that time. 3 and. * great.
*-* certainely. • the. T T6L exxx. ooL 1.
8 omitted. • vppon. 10 they. 11 right.
u within.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cxliii.] of the death of the emperor Thierry's nephew. 531
the emperours nephue was slairce, who was a goodly The Emperor's
, nephew, a goodly
knyghte / and ye emperour had before sent hym to knight, was
_ _ himself slain.
Burdeanx to gouerne the londe and countre of Burdeloys,
4 and had bene there the space of .iiii. yeris / of whose
dethe the lorde of Vergier was sory, for he had rather
Jhe had bene taken presoner / then they toke his body «»d buried in the
chief church of
and buryed hym in the chefe churche of Tournous, Toumoie.
8 where as they lay all nyght with theyr presoners, who
were to ye nowbre of .viii. c. : they of Burdeaux that The men of
_ •▼-,1101 Bordeaux that
were taken as presoners were2 Ioyfull, when 8 they were prisoners
were glad to
were4 scapyd the handy s of the almayns. hare escaped the
hands of the
12 U After this discomfiture they retournid5 Cluny, Germans,
where as they were receyuid with great ioye of the amf/8'0™1 *°
abbot and of the couente / then the lorde of Yergier receiTeTbythe17
shewyd the 6maner of the6 dyscomfyture / and then *
16 the botye was 7departyd to7 them that had wonne
it8 / then9 all the men of warre departyd excepte An the men of
war departed
a .M. men whome the abbot retaynyd sty 11 8 for the except a thousand
sauegarde of the towne of Cluny / who made many Se'townrf*11*"1
20 scynnysshis with the emperours men. 9 After this Clan7'
dyscomfyture the newes therof were10 broughte to the The news of this
defeat was
citye of Magence to ye emperoure Therry, who was brought to the
ryght sorowful for ye dethe of his nephue, who was his ft^^n™*"7
24 systers sone / by reason of the sorowe &11 dyspleysure wrrowtaflbr his
that he had," he was thre dayes after or13 he wold death'
come out14 of his chambre / and on the fourthe day he
sent for all his lordys and counsayle / & to the[m]15
28 he made his complayntis, how by the occasyon of duke
Huon of Burdeaux, he had loste iiii. of his nephues,
& his bastarde sone / & sayd, ' I ought greatly to be
anoyed10 when I can not be reuengyd of Huon / I
32 thynke he shal neuer retourne agayne / but syn17 it is
1 that * rfcht. 8 Fol. exxx. ool. 2. 4 thus.
6 to the abbey of. whole discourse of their.
7-7 deuided amongst, 8 omitted. 9 and.
10 was preseDtly. 11 great 11 for. » before.
14 forth. M then in text. w greeued. 17 seeing.
M M 2
Digitized by
532
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxliii.
As he could not
be rerenged on
Huon hlnwelf,
the Emperor
determines to
burn Ksclara-
monde and hang
the 800 primmer*
brought from
Bordeaux.
Thorns were
carried out of the
city to burn the
noble lady
Esclaramonde,
and four hangmen
bring her and the
prisoners out of
the city,
and beat them by
the way.
Weeping and
lamenting, the
lady calls on our
Lord Jesus Chrint
to bring her soul
Into Paradise.
80 that I caw take of hym1 no vengaunce, I shall take
it vpon his wyfe Esclaramonde and vpon the .CCC.
presoners that I brought out of Burdeaux / but by the
same lorde that made and fourrayd me to his semblaunce, 4
I shall neuer haue ioye in2 my harte, nor drynke3 nor
ete tyll4 I haue sene Esclaramonde brente5 in a fyre,
and ye .CCC. presoners hangyd and strawgelyd, and I
wyll that eche of you knowe that he that speketh 8
to me fyrst to the contrary I shall hate hym euer
after* / when the 6lordis7 harde the emperoure make
that promyse, there was none so hardy that durst speke
one worde / then the emperoure in hast8 commaundid 12
great plentye of thornes to be caryed out of the citye
vnto a ly tell mountayne there besyde / and therby
to be rerid vp sartayne galous to hang theron .iii.
C. presoners ; all this was done as he commaundyd / 16
for mo then .x. lode of thornes were caryed out to
brenne9 the noble lady Esclaramonde / and she was
sent for out of pry son by .iiii. hangmen, and the
presoners with her were brought into y* citye, and all 20
to10 beten by the waye / when the noble lady sawe how
she was delte with all,11 petuously she corwplaynyd for
her good husbande Huon, and for her dough ter claryet,
and sayd / 4 a, my ryght swete lorde & husband Huon / 24
at this tyme shal be the departure of vs two 1 ; 12 then
she callyd vpon our lorde god13 Iesu chryst, prayenge
hym by his grace and petye to brynge her sowle into
paradyse / thus cryenge and complaynynge the noble 28
lady was led thrughe the towne / 12 then ladyes, and
burgesses, and may dens of the citye ran to tbeyr
wyndowes and dorys / and behelde the dolorous and
"petuous14 company ledynge towardes theyr dethes ; then 32
1 of hym after vengeance. 2 at. 8 drinke after ete.
• 4 vntill. 6 burnt. 6 Fol. cxxx. back, col. 1.
7 had well. 8 in hast after commaundid. 9 burne.
10 bee. 11 shee before petuosly. 1S and. 13 omitted.
14 pitiful
Digitized by
Ca. cxliii.] of the danger op esclaramonde. 533
they sayde ahyghe / 'A, rygbt noble lady, where is a« who behold
her ask what hat
become the great beautye that yo were wonte to be of / become of her
^ . great beauty.
for now your vysage is pale and dyscolouryd that was
4 wonte to be so fayre, and now so lothely1 and dis-
fyguryd / where is become your fayre herys, that nowe
be so blake and ruggyd for the great ponerty that
ye haue enduryd / Alas, noble lady, great pety2 we
8 haue to se you in this estate yf we coud a mende it * /
tli us as this lady was led thrughe y* towne she was
bemonyd 8 of them that sawe her / the .iiL C. ientylmen
also4 were led forthe / and the emperour Thyrry and
12 his lordis rode after them / for his desyre was to se the
lady brente5 & the6 presoners hangid / he made haste
because of the sorowe that he had for y* dethe of his
nephue and of his men, who were newly slayne by the
16 purches7 of the abbot of Cluney / when they were Aatheproceaeion
r " ' went oat of the
issued out of the citye of Magence / duke Hyldebert, a city, duke
nere kynsman of the emperours, was comynge into the kinsman of the
_ i Emperor, wm
citye the same tyme that the lady was led fourth, and coming in, and
20 sawe how rudely they delte with the lady / 8 when he roughly they
sawe her he knew wel9 it was10 Esclaramond / 11 when Beciaramonde,
he sawe her at that poynt, the water was in his eyen,
and12 s.iyd to13 them that ledde her / 'Syrs, go not he wd them
J , m iii deeist till he had
24 so faste ty 11 14 I haue spoken with the emperoure' / the epoken with the
Emperor*
whiche they <Jyd gladly \ when the noble lady Esclara-
monde15 vnderstode the duke / she had a16 lytell hope,
she tournid her eyen towardis hym, and sayd / ' A,
28 ryg*it noble prynce, haue petye and compassyon of me, Eedaramonde
for I haue done no thynge wherby I shulde deserue to have pity on her.
dye' / when the duke 17harde17 her he had suche petye
that he coude speke no worde, his harte was so full of
32 sorowe / 8 then-he rode as fast as he myght to mete wttA
1 loathed. 2 and compassion. 8 Fol. cxxx. back, col. 2.
4 were also. 6 burnt • other. 7 meanes.
• and. 9 that. 10 the faire Ladie. 11 but 18 he.
13 vnto. 14 vntill. 16 had well heard and.
18 some. 1T~17 had well vnderstood.
Digitized by
534
HUON OF BCJRDEUX.
[Ca. cxliiL
Ht entreats the
Emperor to
respite their liTee
till alter Easter.
Surely It ta
auffldent to have
chased her from
her country and
atgnoriea, and to
have taken her
i for
but if an the men
In hia empire
and all the prieata
preached to him
for a year, the
Emperor will not
give way, neither
will he eat nor
drink till
Eaclaramonde be
burnt, and the
other persons
hanged.
y* emperoure, and passyd by the .CCC. presoners, and
had great pety1 of them / and so he came to2 the
emperour all wepyng, he* sayd / 'A, ryght noble
emperoure, I requyre you in the honoure of the passyon 4
of our lorde Iesu chryst, haue petye and compassyon of
this dolorous company that ar lykely to dye this daye /
remembre howe4 it is nowe in the holy tyme of lente,
wherefore I requyre you5 respyght theyr lyues vnto6 it 8
be past Ester / and, syr, humbely I requyre you for all
the ser7uyce that I and myn haue done2 you, grante
me8 this request for my rewarde, the whiche is9 reson-
able and iust / great wronge ye do to reuenge your 12
iyre10 vpon this noble lady / ye haue chasyd her out of
her countre11 and syngnoryes, the whiche you hold in
your handes, and take the reuenuys & profyghtes
therof / yf ye be not suffyced with this, I dought me12 16
that our lorde Iesu chryst wyll be sore dysplesyd with
you* / when the emperoure had18 herde the duke his
cosyn, he stode styll and spake hastely, and sayd,
1 fayr cosyn, I haue well herde you, & therf ore I 20
answere you in breue wordys / how that yf al the men
that be in myn empere, and all the preestes and f reers
were here, and dyd preche to2 me au hole yere desy-
rynge me to respyght this ladyes deth and the other 24
that be with hyr, I wolde do nothyng for all them /
and therefore speke to me14 no more in that mater / for
by the herd that hangeth at16 my chynne, syn I can not
haue Huon hyr husbande at my wyll, I shal neuer eete 28
nor drynke tyll8 I haue seen hyr brente16 and the other
persones hangyde. For when I remembre the deth of
myn nephues and of my dere sone, the whiche hath
bene slayne by Huon, there is no membre in my body 32
but that trymbleth for sorowe and dyspleasure.
1 and compassion. 1 vnto. * and. that.
* to. • vntill. T Fol. cxxxi. col. 1. 8 but
• both. » anger. « landes. « omitted.
u well. 14 to me after more. 15 vnder. 16 burnt.
Digitized by
Ca. Cxliv.] HOW E8CLARAMONDE PREPARES FOR DEATH. 535
U when the good duke hyldeberte vnderstode the
emperoure, he had great sorowe,1 and departed without
any worde spekynge and without any leue takyng.
4 But retornyd fro thence2 he came8 full of iyre and
dyspleasure / then the emperoure thyrry cryed with a R«oommand*
the d— patch of
hye voyce, and sayd how4 he wolde shortly dispache u» t
the mater to se the lady hrente,6 and led to ye hyll
8 where as the fyre was redy / when the lady perseyued whenttie udy
y* place where as she 6shulde dye in / she cast out a wh#t* *h« should
great crye & made a petuose7 complaynte to our onrLordJeiu.
lord lesu chryst, and sayd / 'A, ryght swete lorde pity on bar soul,
12 lesu chryst, thou knouest that for the loue of the
I am chrystened to byleue in thy law, wherin I wyll
lyue and dye / I se well my dayes ar but shorte / and
thou knowest well4 there is no cause wherin that
161 haue deseruyd deth / therfore I requyre the hombly
to haue pyte8 of my soule and9 to kepe and preserue and to k*p and
my husbande Huon and my doughter claryet.' Thus ho* band Huon
as ye haue herd the noble duchea Esclaramonde made ciiiit.' d*ugbter
20 hyr complayntes, hyr handes fast10 bound, and knelyng wu^harhand^
on11 hyr kneys before the stakes, abydynge y* our ing before th«
, atake Baclara-
of hyr deth / Now 12leue we12 to speke of this noble monde awaiuthe
lady tyll13 we retorne agayn, and speke of the noble ** m
24 kynge Oberone and14 his compayne.
% How16 Oberon sent .il of his knyghtes
of the fayery, that is to saye, Malabron
and Gloryande, to delyuer the duches
28 Esclaramoad, who shulde haue bene brente,5
and16 .ccc. presoners17 who were18 delyueryd
by the sayd knyhhtes. Ca. C.xliiii.
1 at his heart. * and. 8 became. 4 that
8 burnt. * Fol. cxxxi. col. 2. ? pitiful).
8 and compassion. 9 that thou wilt vouchsafe.
10 omitted. u vppon. «-« Jet us leaue. » vntill.
M of. 18 King. 18 the.
17 that should haue bene hanged. 18 all.
Digitized by
536
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxliv.
On the Mine day
a* Esclaramonde
»liotild have been
burnt, Oberon
whs holding a
great court in
hi* palace.
The noble queen
Morgan was
there, with her
niece and many
other Indie* and
knights of fairy-
land, making
great joy.
Oberon began to
weep,
and Gloryand, the
good knight of
Fairyland, asks
him the cause of
his grief.
It is that
Etclaramonde,
wife of Oberon's
friend Huon, is
to be burnt, and
the prisoners
hanged.
Oberon may not
Ow seweth the story1 that y* same
daye that the duches, y* fay re-
Esclaramonde, shuld haue bene
brent,* kynge Oberone of the fayery 4
was in his pales of mummur,
wheras he had holden a great courte and a sumptuous
for his mother ; the lady of the pryue Isle was there /
and also the noble quene Morgan8 le faye / & the 8
dameysell Tra/iscelyne hyr nese, with dyuers other
ladyes of the fayery, and dyuers knyghtes 4 of the
same, makyng great ioye ; kynge Oberon was syttynge
in a ryche trone garnyshed & borderyd with fyne 12
golde and precyous stones / and as he satte he fell in a
great study / and therwith the dropes of water fell out
of his eyene, &6 began to wepe6 so sore as though he
shulde haue drowned in7 dropes of water / whew these 16
quenys, ladyes, and damysels sawe hym make suche
sorowe, they had great merueyll / 8 there was Gloryande,
the good knyght of the Fayery, and Malabron, who
were ryght preuy and wel-belouyd with kyng Oberon / 20
8 when they sawe the kynge make such sorowe they
were9 abasshed, and syr Gloryand sayd / * Syr, what
man is lyuynge in this world that hathe dyspleased
you or done any thynge agaynst you V / * Gloryand/ 24
quod y* kyng / 1 the dysplesure that I haue is for the
fayre10 Esclaramonde, wyffe to11 Huon of Burdeaux /
my 12 frende / she is as nowe led out of the cytye of
Maience & brought to13 a14 fyre, wherin y* Emperoure 28
therry wyll byrne her / & other .CCC. poore presoners
to be hanged / and I maye not15 socoure them / and I
am sory therof for the loue of Huon / who is as now
passyd the see, and is in the wayo retournynge home- 32
1 Historic. 1 burnt. 8 Morgue.
4 Fol. cxxxi. back, col. 1. 6 he. • and complaine.
7 with. 9 and. 9 sore dismayed and. 10 Ladie.
11 vnto Duke. 12 verie good. 13 vnto. 14 great
16 ayd nor.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. txliv.] of oberon's intervention. 537
warde / and he hath had suche aduenturs that there is Huon. *ftOT
enduring many
no humayne body coude suffre nor here the payns and pains, u return-
ing to hU own
trauelles that he hath endeared, nor the meruelous land,
4 aduentures that he hath borne ; 1 he ha the had so
many bateyUes that it were2 meruyll3 to here them
rehersyd, and nowe where as he thought to haue had
rest & to haue founde his wyfe, the fayr4 Esclara-
8 monde a lyue, who shall now be brent6 without6 she «ndifh«
J 9 Bnds Esclara-
be shortly7 socoured, 8 & then 8 I am sure 9 he shall10 monde burnt win
die of sorrow.
dye for sorowe.'11 when Gloryand and malabrone12
lierde13 ukynge Oberone / they kneled downe before
12 this kynge and sayd / 'syr, we desyre you to socoure oioryandand
this noble lady for the loue of her good husbond, Oberon, for love
of Huon, to
your15 frend Huon ' / ' Gloryand/ quod the noble kynge succour the noble
lady.
Oberon / ' that wyll I not do, but I am well contente
16 that hastely ye go and delyuer the good lady and the J*1*™ J*^1^
other prisoners that be with her / and saye on16 my to go and deliver
behalfe to the Emperoure therry, that he be not soo
hardy17 to do any yll to the lady or to any of her
20 compayne / but saye that I wyll18 that he respyght to request the
* Emperor to
theyr lyues tyll19 the holy feeste of Eester be passyd / respite their iiree
till alter Easter,
and that the lady & all8 y* other prisoners he cause to
be retorned agayne16 to the citye of Maience, and that
24 y* lady be set in a chambre at her lyberte and pleasure, to place the lady
, , in a chamber
& let her be bayngned20 and wesshyde and new arayed, with four noble
ladies,
and let her haue .iiii. noble ladyes to serue and to serve her
acompaynye her, & that she haue meet and drynk «ac«y^aifehe
28 as good & as plenteous21 as thougth she were his owne a^hi!er!>Wn
propre dough ter / in lyke wyse let22 the other prisoners He is to do^ ^
be seruyd / & saye that I wyll23 he 24 do this vnto24 the other prisoners.
1 and. * great 8 and wonderful. 4 Ladie.
6 burnt. • except. 1 aided and. 8—8 omitted.
» that. 10 will.
11 and griefe that he will haue at his heart 12 had well.
13 and vnderstode. 14 Fol. exxxi. back, col. 2. 16 deare.
18 in. 17 as. 18 and comraauud. 19 to till.
» bathed. » plentifull. 22 all.
23 and commaund that 24—24 doth thus vntill.
Digitized by
53S
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. cxlir.
Then Glory and
«nd Malabron
with themselrea
In the piece where
theledj wee,
end they come
through the eir
with a noiee u of
thunder, but
invisible to ell bat
theledj,
end eeet Into the
fire the men who
would have burnt
the lady.
The knights
release the lady,
tell her who they
ere, end bid her
be of good
comfort.
It is not the
first time Oberon
has aided
Bsclaramonde
and Huon.
In a short time
Esclaramonde
shall see Huon
again.
Esclaramonde
rejoices greatly
et the good
tidings.
tyme that Eester be passyd / and shew him that he be
not soo hardy to breke or trespas1 my commaunde-
ment 1 / then Gloryand & Malabron toke leue of the
Kyng and of all other that were there / 2then they 4
wysshyd them selfe in the place wher as the lady and
the other presoners where; 8 the lady as then was on4
her kneys before the fyre sore wepynge,5 abydynge the
oure of her deth / the which had bene nere to6 her yf 8
she had not shortly bene7 socouryd for they were
aboute to haue bounde her to the stake / when Gloryand
& Malabron came braynge in the ayre lyke thonther /
and they were not seyne of no person but alonely of the 12
lady / 2when they were come & saw ye fyre akyndlyng,
8they toke y* .x. rybawdis9 that wold haue cast the
lady in10 y* fyre, they toke them & dydu cast them all
.x. in to y* flamy ng fyer, wheras they wher shortly 16
brent;12 and besyde them there wher dyuers other
brent,12 whereof suche as were there had13 greate feer
that none durst a byd there / then y9 .ii knyghtis cam
to the lady and lousid hyr, and sayd, 4 dame,14 be 20
of good comfort, we ar .ii. knyghtis sent hether fro
kinge oberon to socour and to brynge you out of the16
daunger that ye be in '/ 4 syrs,' quod the lady, • yt ya
not the fyrste tyme that the noble kynge Oberon hathe 24
socuryd vs, bothe me and my husbonde / god of hys
grace rewarde hym' / 'dame/14 quod gloryand, 'be
mery and make ioye, for your good husbonde Huon is
come on this syde the se, whome ye shall see in16 28
shorte tyme ' / when y* good lady 17 vnderetode gloriand
she had suche ioye that of a great spase she coude
speke no word, she was so rauysshyd; 18 at laste she
sayde, 'syr, I ought greatly to loue you 19 to brynge19 32
8 where.
vpon.
1 against. s and.
6 and oomplayning and. 6 vnto. T been shortly.
8 Fol. cxxxii. col. 1. 9 villaines. 10 to. u omitted.
18 burnt 15 so. 14 Madame. 18 perill and.
w within. 17 had well. 18 hut. l9~19 for bringing.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. CXKV.] OP THE DEEDS AT BURDEUX OP OBERON's MESSENGERS. 539
me suche tydynges ' / 1 then they sayd to2 hyr, ' Dame,3
rest you here a seson tyll4 we haue delyueryd the other
prysoners, whom we see yonder ledyng to 6 the dethe
4 warde,5 and shortely we shal retourae to6 you.' there
with they departyd fro the lady, and lefte hyr on7
hyr knees holdynge vp hyr handys 2 to the2 heuen, shederomir
1deuoutely re[n]dering thaftkis to our lord Iesu chryste our Lord Jmu
8 of 8 the socoure and ayed that he had sent hyr. then Chri*1,
glory and and malabron came to ye galous, & there The knight*
lowsyd y* CCC. prisoners, and slew dyuers of them pri*one»,
that were sent thether to do execueyon, wherof all ej^ionei*/
12 they that were ther9, had great merueyl10 when they
saw there compeny slayn & coude not se them that dyd
it / but they thought there were a thousande knyghtes
by reason of y*11 brute & noyse that 12 y* .iL knyghtes
16 of y* fayry made / wherof they had suche fere that aii the spectator*
they fled away and ran to the emperoure, who was sore uiiSingulSj'
18abasshed of that auenture / for it was also shewyd8 thoiwind knight*,
hym / that the lady was reskewyd, and they coude not ^5^^," *
20 tell by whom ; But that they sayd they herde 14 great
brute & tempest15 / then also the emperoure saw how
the people came rynnynge toward hym, fleynge fro the They fie* to the
galous, and they shewyd16 hym all that they had sene fnTdeacribe to
24 and hard, wherof ye emperoure & all his lordes had uk^pUc***
great fere & were sore abasshed. 1 A, syr/ quod the
duke of Austrych, ' it had bene better for you to haue it would hare
beleuyd duke Hyldbert, your cosyn / know suerly17 ye uie Emperor to
28 haue greatly displeased our lord Iesu chryst syn17 ye toHUd^rtT1
wolde do suche cruell Iustyce in the holy tyme of ™que,t*
lente 9 / thus after these .iL knyghtes of the fayry had
reskewyd the good lady and y* other presoners, he18
32 toke them and the lady & brought them to2 the
1 and. 1 vnto. 9 Madame. 4 vntill.
*~* toward their deaths. 6 again vnto. T vpon.
8 for. 9 present. 10 and did woonder thereat.
11 great u Fol. exxxii. col. 2. u dismayed and.
"a. " no.vse. " to. 17 that. 18 they.
Digitized by
Google
540
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxliv.
Then the two
k nights brought
the lady and
prisoners to the
Emperor,
and made them-
selves visible to
all.
The Emperor,
seeing only two
knights armed
on horseback,
sets little account
by them,
and asks what
they mean by
such boldness,
and declares he
will hang them
Oloryand repeats
to the Kraperor
the things Oberon
has commanded
him to do.
emperoure, and shewyd them selues openly / 1when
they were in the presence of the emperoure, and y*
presoners with them / 1the emperoure saw that there
were but .ii. knyghtes armyd on2 horse back, he set 4
lytyll by them, and sayd / ' how are you so bold and so
hardy to delyuer and to take out of my mens handes
they3 that are condemned to dye by Iustyce, and
beseyd, that ye haue slayne4 of my men / and5 brynge 8
them in to my presence whome I haue condemned
to dye / wherfore I wyll* ye7 knowe that or8 I eete or
dry like you and all they shal be hanged, and the lady
Esclaramonde brente,9 nor I shall not departe 10 hence 12
tyll11 1 haue sene you all dye'12 / then Gloryand and
Malabrone lyft vp theyr wessere and shewyd theyr
faces / and they semyd to13 all them that sawe them
that they neuer saw before .ii so 14fayre knyghtis in all 16
theyr lyues. Then Gloryand sayde to13 the emperour /
1 syr, of you nor of your thretenynges we make ther of 15
lytell acounte. But, syr, know for trouthe / that the
noble kynge Oberon commaundeth you by vs in as 20
moche as ye fere your lyfe / that ye be not so hardy
any f orther to do any yl or iniury nor commaunde to be
done to13 this noble lady that is here present, nor to
these other prysoners / vntyll Eester day be past 24
And also kynge Oberon commaundeth you that ye1*
kepe this lady in your house clothyd and apareyled
and as well gouernyd, & to be acompanyed with ladyes
and damoselles to serue her honorably as well as17 she 28
were your owne proper doughter, and that in lyke wyse
these presoners to be newly aparelyd18 and orderyd as
well as other knyghtis of your house / &, syr, we
warne10 that in all20 this that we haue sayd that ye do 32
6 nowe.
10 from.
1 and. 2 vppon. 8 those. 4 many.
6 that. T well. 8 before. • burned.
n vntill. 12 the death. » vnto.
" Fol. cxxxii. back, col. 1. * but. » doe. « if.
18 arrayed. 19 and charge you. 20 omitted.
Digitized by
Ca. CxllV.] HOW THE EMPEROR IS SORE AFRAID OP OBERON. 541
not the contrary for any tliynge that maye fall / for yf
ye do other wyse / there is no mortall man shal saue
your lyfe : thus commaundeth you1 to do the2 noble
4 kynge Oberon, who is souerayne lorde8 of the fayry1 /
when the emperour Therry4 harde these knyghtes of ye
fayry thus speke to5 hym / and saw how they were
armyd with theyr swordis in theyr handys tayntyd
8 with the blode of his almayns, he had great fere, The Emperor
J 9 ° 1 was sore afraid,
& beheld his barons, and sayde / i syrs, I praye you and asks his
baroos to counsel
gyue me som good counseyle in this6 besynes / ye7 him what to do.
haue well hard moch spekyng of kynge Oberon and of
12 his great actis and dedys, wherfore I fere hym moche /
ye may se what .iL of his knyghtis haue done / they
haue rescued thew* that I had condempnyd to dye /
and slayne dyuers of my men. -Also ye here what
1 6 worde he sendeth me by his two knyghtis, that I
8shulde kepe this lady and the other presoners
honorably / and that I shuld not be so hardy to put
them to any daunger tyll0 Eester were10 passyd.' Then
20 an aunsyent knyght sayd / 1 syr, knowe for trouthe An «neient
J Je knight describes
that kyng Oberon is pu*ant and wyse / for there is oberon^s great
nothynge in the world but that he knoweth it, and *°
also as ofte?i as he lyst, he can be where as he wyll
24 wysshe hym selfe, 11 with as great nombre of people as
he lyste / ntherfore, syr, byleue suerly yf ye do other-
wyse then he hathe commaundyd you to do these two
knyghtis of his that be here present hathe suflfycyent12
28 pusaunce to dystroye you, and kynge Oberon to syt
styl at home / therfore, syr, myn aduyse is that ye and advises the
Emperor to do as
an8were these .iL knyghtes, that all that kynge Oberon the two fairy
* knights
hath commaunded you to do by them, that ye wyll do command.
32 it suerly ' / 11 then all the other lordis gaue the emperour
1 commaundeth you after Oberon. 2 right.
3 and Gouernor of all the Realme. 4 had well. 5 vnto.
• serious. 7 we. 8 Fol. cxxxii. back, col. 2.
• vntill. 10 be. 11 and. u after puissance.
Digitized by
542
HUON OP BTJRDEUX. [Ca. Cxliv.
The other lordi
gave the same
ooansel.
The Emperor
promises to do
whet Oberon
command*.
Gloryand aayt
Oberon will then
take the Emperor
for hie friend,
and to the marrel
of all, the two
knighte vanish.
They return to
Oberon, and
relate what they
hare done.
Oberon declares
when Easter is
past, the Emperor
will carry out his
Intention of
burning Esclara-
monde, and of
hanging the
prisoners.
Gloryand cannot
belieTe the
Emperor will
dare to do it.
His great hatred
will force him
so to do.
the same counsayle / when the emperour had1 hard2
his lordys3 he retournyd4 hym to6 the .iL knygtys of
the fayry, and sayde / 'syrs, ye shall salute me to
kyng Oberon, and say that as for me I shall do euery 4
thynge as he hathe commaunded me to do to the best
of my power ' / ' syr Emperour,* quod Gloryand, * yf
ye* do as ye saye the kynge wyl take you for his
frende / and therupon we commaunde you to god ' / 8
thus the .iL knygtis departyd, so that the emperoure
nor none other parson 7coude tell7 where they were
become, wherof euery man hadde great maruayle and
were sore abasshyd. 8 Thus Gloryand and Malabron 12
within a whyle came to9 Mommure, where as they
founde kynge Oberon, to whome they shewed all that
they had done. ' wel,' quod kynge Oberon, ' as now
the lady Esclaramonde and the other presoners ar 16
at theyT ease and well seruyd / but or10 a 11moneth
be passyd they shall derely abye the ease that they be
in nowe / for the emperoure hateth them so sore
bycause of the maleys that he berethe to5 Huon12 / he 20
wyll set them all agayne into preson in great13 mysery /
and when Eester is past / he wyll brenne14 the lady15
and hange vp16 the presoners without they be rescued'17 /
' syr/ quod Gloryand, i I can not byleue that the 24
emperour dare do it or thinke to do so.' 18 ' Gloryand,'
quod the19 kyng, * know suerly that the great hate that
is rooty d in the hart of the emperoure shal cons trey n 20
him thus to do.' now let vs leue spekynge of 21 kyng 28
Oheron, and speke of the Emperoure.22
1 well. 1 and vnderetood. 9 and Barons.
4 turned. 6 vnto. 6 will. 7~ r knew not 8 and.
• the City of. 10 before. 11 Fol. cxxxiii. col. 1.
u of Bourdeaux that. 13 pouertie and, 14 burne.
16 Escleremond. 16 all. 17 againe. 18 so to doe.
19 noble. M and vrge. 31 the noble. 33 Tirrey.
Digitized by
Ca. Cxlv.] HOW THE EMPEROR OBEYS OBERON's ORDER8. 543
% Howe the emperoure1 made the2 lady
esclaramonde to be well seruyd and apar-
aylyd, and all the other presoners / but
a3 .iii. wekys after he made the noble lady
& the sayd presoners to be put agayne in
to pryson, where as they were in great
mysery. Ca. Cxlv.
Ow sheweth the hystory that after
these* .ii. knyghtis of ye fayry were
departid and vanysshid away out of
the presence of the emperoure, and
that the emperoure was retoumed into The Emperor
returned to
the citye of Magence with the lady Mayenoe with the
Esclaramond and with the other presoners, wherof the n^de^dThe
burgesses, ladyes, and damosels of ye citye 6 were M^joio^toMe
16 ioyfull6 of theyr good aduenture / 6 the emperoure had thtm*
them into his palays and delyuerid to7 them chambers
well drest and hangyd, as it aparteynyd,8 and the 9 lady 9 TheiadjU
treated juet ae
had .iiii. ladyes to serue her / and she was baynyd 10 though she was
20 and stuyd,11 and new aparaylyd as wel and12 rychely ow^de^ter*
as thoughe she had bene the empelsrours 14 proper
dough ter, so that within a shorte space she came agayne *> that aha
to her beauty e, 16 and in lyke wyse so dyd all the other beauty.
24 presoners who were kepte 16 in 16 chambers and new The other
aparayled, and had theyr ease17 as other knyghtis of ye treated aa knight*
emperoure courte had / but as sone as thre wekys was
passyd / the great hate that the emperour had to7 At the end of
three week* the
28 the2 lady and to the18 presoners constrayned hym to Emperor', hate
returned^
take fro them theyr4 ioy and ease that they were in,
1 Tirrey. 2 noble. 8 about 4 the.
*— 5 had |?reat ioy. • and. 7 vnto. 8 thereunto.
•— • noble duches Esclereraond. 10 bathed. 11 washed.
18 as. 13 Fol. cxxxiii. col. 2. 14 owne.
15 and to be as faire and well fauoured as euer she was.
le-w aigQ in fajre arKj rich. it and pleasures.
18 other.
Digitized by
544
HUON OP BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxlv.
and tournyd the same 1to wepynges and sorowe.x
And the eniperour sware that for all kynge Oberon or
for any thynge that he coude do / he wolde neuer be
in peas in his harte tyll2 he had set all that3 company 4
and he swore that agayne into pryson / and besyde that, he sware that
lady should be Eester shulde no soner be past but that y* lady
priwiIereVanged. Esclaramond shuld be brent4 and all the other presoners
hangyd / and on5 them to take vengaunce in the spyte 8
of Huon of Burdeaux, who had done hym so moch
trouble that he coud not forget it / then he corn- J
Esciaramonde maundyd to take agayne the duches Esclaramonde and
and the others
wereapiin to put her and all the other presoners in to the preaon 12
imprisoned.
agayne / ye which was done6 / Then the duches
Esclaramonde and al the other presoners were ryghte
sorowful, and were in great fere, and sayd eche to
other, 'Alas, now our dethe aprocheth.' and when7 16
the lady saw that she was set agayne in pryson, she
The lady weeps began sore to wepe and complayne foi the duke Huon
for her husband *
Huon. her husband, 8and sayd / 1 a, dere lorde and husbonde8 /
He tarries so to longe9 ye tary, for I se none other owre10 but that 20
lonjc, and wiir not , , , . .
eome in time to my dethe aprocheth / for ye shall not come in tyme /
save er. well may I curse the owre that11 1 was borne / for in all
my lyfe I haue had but sorow, and heuynes, and dolours
12 in portables12 / better it had bene for me to haue 24
ben ded then 18 to vse14 my lyfe in this derko presone ' /
ryght deuoutly she called on5 our lord Iesu chryste
to haue pyte15 of her / thus was this noble duches set
agayn in presone, and also the .CCC. presoners, where 28
They suffer great as they 8ufferyd great fayme w and pouerte / for other
hunger j • "
thynge had they not to lyue by but barly brede & -
1~1 into pitiful! weepinges and great lamentations.
1 vntill. 3 the. 4 burnt. 6 vppon.
6 according to his commandement. 7 that.
8~8 omitted, 9 quoth she. 10 way. 11 euer.
w~12 insupportable. 13 Fol. cxxxiii. back, col. 1.
14 spend. 16 and compassion.
18 famine.
Digitized by
Ca. CXlvi.] OF HUON'S ARRIVAL IN FRANCE.
545
clere water. Now we wyll leue to speke of them and their only food is
speke of 1 Huon, who was aryued at Marcyll.2 Sw^Jf
% How Huon departed fro Marcyll2 and
came to his vncle, the8 abbot of cluny, in
habyte dysgysed / & to4 hym dyscouered
hymselfe, wherof the abbot had great ioy,
& so had Claryte his doughter. Ca. C.xlvi.
> S ye haue harde here before, how Huon
was at Marcyll,2 and after that he
had soiorned5 .iiii. dayes, he made
hym redy to departe, and brought
mules and horse for hym6 & for
barnard, 7and for his company / and
then he chargyd his summers / and vpon one of them
he trussyd the greffons fot, ye which was great and
16 horryble, & coueryd it bycause euery man shulde not se
it / when he was redy and euery thynge trussyd, he Huon imtm
Marseilles peMOS
departed fro Marcyll2 / and rode so by his iornyes that by Provence and
he passyd by Prouence and came to4 Masconoys, and *Tmirsd»y at
20 on8 a thursday at nyght, he aryuyd at the towne of To^r^T*""
Tornous. And when they had suppyd, he callyd
Barnard his cosyn, and sayd / * cosy[n],9 I praye you After supper,
10abyde me10 here / for I wyll go11 se myne vncle the8 bu^nte^tioToT
24 abbot of Cluny and Claryet my doughter, whome Abbot of cTuny*
I sore desyre to se, & shortely I shall retourne agayne dHuVbS?,einhU
to4 you, I wyll go preuely dysgysed to ye entent that I diigutae-
wyll not be knowen ' / ' syr/ quod Barnard, ' syn12 it
28 is your plesure we must be content ' / then they went
to bed, & in the mornynge Huon rose vp and aparelyd in the morning
' , , , , f , , Huondreseed
hymselfe lyke a pylgryme, wiih a stafe, and a bage him»eifa«a
pilgrim, with staff
abought his necke / 13 with great botis on8 his legis; end bag, great
1 Duke. 2 Mareellis. 8 good. 4 vnto.
6 iourned there. 8 selfe. 7 Fol. cxzxiii. back, col. 2.
8 vppon. • cosyd in text. 10-l° to stay. 11 to.
12 seeing that. 13 and.
CHARL. ROM. VI. N N
Digitized by
Google
546
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxhL
boots, a beard,
and long hair.
Barnard and hit
company laugh
at the disguise ;
Hoon looks Ilka
a beggar Indeed.
Re readies
Cluny,
and demands
entrance.
This being
granted, he asks
to see the abbot.
The porter glres
him leave to go
Into the house;
the abbot is in his
hall, communing
with his brethren.
he had a great herd and long here, wherfore he semyd
well a pylgrime 1come1 fro a far countre, & so he had
done in dede / when Barnard & his company saw hym
so aparaylyd, they laughed & said / 'syr, it apereth 4
well hy your maner that ye ar scapyd out of some
good place / it semeth to vs / that yf ye wyll shake
your stafe ye wyll make the money to a voyde out of
mens purses, ye ar so hold a hegger ' / when Huon hard 8
hym5 he laughed, & toke leue of them and departid
al alone with his hage ahoute his necke / so a fote he
went tyll8 he came to4 Cluny / Hhe/t he came to4 the
ahhey gate & callyd ye porter,® & sayd / c frend, I pray 12
you7 let me enter.' 8he openyd the weket & beheld
Huon, who semyd to hym to he a tall & a goodly man,
& sayd / 'pylgryme, enter when you plese* / 9 Then
Huon enterid in at the weket, and sayd to4 y* porter / 16
frend, 'I com strayt fro beyonde the great see, and
haue kyssed the holy sepulture, & I10 haue sufferyd
moche payne and pouerte / and bycause or11 this tyme
I haue bene here with y* abbot of this place, therfore I 20
thought12 I wolde not pas by without spekynge with
hym ; I pray you7 shewe me that courtoyse that I may
speke with hym / for he wyll sone know me.' ' Syr,'
quod y* porter, 4 it semeth18 by your maner12 ye seme to 24
be a man of a good plase : therfore I gyue you leue7 go
into the house at youre pleasure / and ye shall fynde
our good abbot in his halle, where as he is comonynge
with his bretherne / serteynely I knowe well12 ye shall 28
be welcome to4 hym yf he haue of you any knowlege,
for a more noble man cortoyse and large14 ye shal not
fynd on15 this syde16 the see.' ' Frend,' quod Huon,
1 your curtoyse may auayle you.' Then Huon went 32
M that came out 2 them. 8 vntill. 4 vnto.
6 and. 6 vnto him. T to. 8 then.
• Fol. cxxxiiii. col. 1. 10 omitted. " before.
18 that 18 vnto me. 14 liberall u vppon.
» of.
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Google
Ca. Cxlvi.] HOW HUON VISITS CLUNT IN DISGUI8BL 54T
into the hall, wheras he found the abbot with his Haon found the
abbot,
bre theme / Hhen he saluted the abbot and all his saluted him,
couente. ' Fronde,' quod y* abbot, ' ye are welcome ; I
4 pray you2 shew me fro whence ye come?' / 'Syr,'
quod Huon, 1 1 shall shewe you the trouthe / I come •*» annrer to
^ ' J ' hia inquiry Huon
now fro beyonde the see fro the holy citye of Ierusalem, describe* himself
as a pilgrim from
where as I haue kyssed ye holy sepulture1 where as8 Jerusalem,
8 our lord4 was quycke and dede ; I haue bene in those
partyes more then these8 .vii. yerys / and the cause5 I
am com hether to se you is this, I found there a who had met with
a young knight
yonge knyght of myne age namyd Huon of Burdeaux, named Huon of
Bordeaux*
12 and he 6 say the6 he is your nephue / and when he saw
that I wold depart7 thence to come into this8 countre,
he humbly prayed me to recommaunde hym to9 you / Huon prayed the
_ , ' , . A . _ . ' pilgrim, ainee he
and therfore, syr,8 I am com to9 you to do this8 was coming into
16 message / for he and I haue bene together in 10dyuers toZSEitl'
bataylis / & great amyte11 betwen vs* / when the good abbot** * tht
abbot12 harde18 the pylgryme, 14 great dropis14 fell fro
his eyen16 when he harde his nephue Huon namyd /
20 and sayd, 1 frend, I pray you yf it be trewe as ye saye,
to shew me the trouth yf ye haue sene my nephue
Huon / for it is he that I loue best in all this worlde, and
desyre moste to se hym / lI pray you shewe9 me what
24 is his mynd, other to retourne hether or elles to abyde
styll18 there; 17 wold to god18 I were in det to pay a
.M. marke of golde so that he were as nowe here in this
hall/ ' Syr,' quod Huon, * of youre nephue whome ye
28 desyre so moche to se, 19 or it be past a moneth 19 in « month Huon
will arrire hare,
he wyll20 be here with you, and, syr, he shewyd me at
my departyng fro hym that he hath a doughter whom
1 and. 2 to. 8 omitted. 4 Jesus chryst
6 why. 6~* said that 7 from. 8 his. 9 vnto.
10 Fol. cxxxiiii. col. 2. 11 haue bene. 12 had well.
13 and vnderstood. ,4~ 14 many tea res.
18 and trickled downe his cheeks. 18 there still. 17 L
18 that 19—19 before a moneth be past
90 (by the grace of God).
N N 2
Digitized by
648
HUON OP BURDEUX. [Ca. CxlvL
and aisoh* ye haue norysshed and brought vp / and he charged me
pilgrim to ma greatly that I shuld desyre of you to se her or1 I
knows not if she departyd fro you, he knoweth not whether she he a
u alive or dead. |^lle or ^Q^Q j j wo}fle gladely se her yf it were your 4
pleasure.' ' Fronde,' quod the abbotte, * ryght gladly
The abbot will ye shall se her. I shal cause her to come hether, and
summon Clariet
into the haiL then ye maye se her at your ease / and I dare well saye
to2 you that in all the world ye shall not* fynd no 8
fayrer nor a sweter creature, nor more wyser of her
age nor better lernyd, & yet she is but .x. yerys
of age.
1T When Huon vnderstode the abbot, ye maye well 1 2^
Hnon ie most know that he had great ioye at his harte peuely,
Jojrfai. & thankyd our lord Iesu chryste. Then the abbot
callyd to2 hym a ryght notable knyght, namyd syp
The abbot sends a Emery, and commaundyd hym to go & feche thether 16
noble knight, 8ir
Emery, to fetch his nece Claryet, ye knyght went into the chauwbre
Clariet.
wheras the fayre lady was with other .iiii. noble
sir Emery ladyes, who 4 had brought her vp / then Syr Emery
salutes her |
saluted the lady and the other that were with her / 20
whew the yonge lady parseyued syr Emery, she rose vp
she returns his and renderyd to hym his salutacyon, & ryght humbly
salutation, .
and demands bis saing, 'syr knyght, I am ioyous5 of your comynge, I
pray you6 shew7 sum8 of your newes'8 / 'sertaynly, 24
news.
a pilgrim has fayre lady,' quod y* knyght / * hether is come a
beyond the sea pylgryme, who is come fro beyond the see / and he
Huon, her hath shewyd2 the abbot your vncle tydynges of your
thJabbot desires father, duke Huon, therfore your vncle desyreth you to 28
S^wlSViml come and speke with hym.' when the lady harde
spekynge of her father, with all her harte she desyred
to know sum sertayne tydynges / 9 she and her damesels
ciariet and her departed out of y* chambre and came in to the hall to 32
damsels enter tlie
bail. the abbot her vncle, accompanyed with .iL notable
1 before. 2 vnto. 8 omitted.
4 Fol. cxzziiii. back, col. 1. 6 ioyfull. • to. T mee.
8 and tidinges. 9 and then.
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Google
Cd. CXlvL] OF THB BEAUTY OF CLAR1BT. 049
knyghtes; when1 she enteryd into the hall rychely
aparalyd / no man coud dyscryue her beaute,2 she was Her beauty u to
* great; nature can
so well formyd that 8 god and3 nature4 coude not do no more;
4 amende her / her skynne was as whyte as y* floure in
the mede5 / & colouryd lyke the red rose / her hanches
low and her pappys sum what resynge, her throte smoth
and clere / her chyne vaunted / her mouth as vermeyl
8 as a rose / her tethe small & well rengyde, and whyte /
her face whyte and well colouryd, meddelyd6 whyte &
red / her eyene smylynge, her chere amerous to behold,
her nose strethe / her forehed whyte / her here yelow /
12 her eeres gentyll and close, I can not deuyse the
.x. parte of her excellent beaute / none coude regarde aiiwhoeeeher
praise and love
her7 but that praysed and louyd her / all her beaute her.
and her swete demenor, and great humelyte that was
16 in her / yf I shulde8 dyscryue it / it ahulde9 be ouer
long to rehers ; when Huon had10 sene his doughter11,
who was so fay re / he gladly beheld her with / 12 out
makynge of any knowlage / then ye abbot toke his nese
20 by the hande & led her to 13 Huon, and sayd / ' pylgryme,
ho we say you by 3 this damysell / ye maye well parsayue The abbot teua
by3 her she hathe not bene sore trauelyd nor moche herSStyand
come in the sonne / 1 haue kept her a long space14 / wit*
24 and yf she be garnysshed with beaute / in lyke wyse
so she is withe wytte and bounte / she is daughter to13
15 Huow of Burdeaux / the man in the worlde that I
moost loue / that16 wold to god17 I dyd se hym as I do
28 you18 / but yf god send me lyf 19, this lady shall be
rychely maryed, I shall20 gyue her 3 of my8 goodes that and how he
Intend* to dower
she shall be ryche and pusaunte.' ' syr,' quod Huon, her richly.
'I pray to our lorde Iesu chryst to gyue her good
1 then. 2 for. *-» omitted. * herselt
6 meadow* 0 mingled. T nor looke vpon her.
8 heere. • would. 10 well. u clariet
12 Fol. cxxxiiii. back, col. 2. 13 vnto» 14 time,
i* Duke. » I. n that 18 nowe. 19 and heltb.
» will.
Digitized by
500
HUON OF BUBDEUX.
[Ca. cxlvi.
Clariet aeks tar
tidings of htr
The pilgrim
relates bow he
and Huon hare
been companions
for a long space,
and the ad-
rentures they
have had
together.
Hnon will return
before two
months are past.
Clariet hopes he
will deliver her
mother out of
prison.
Hoon then
declares who he
really is,
and that he is
going to make
war on the
Emperor Thierry.
fortune / & that she may be so maryed that her blod
may therby be lyfb vp and exalted ' / then the fayre
lady Clary te sayd to1 Huon / ' syr pylgryme, I pray
you8 shew me yf ye know any tydynges of my father, 4
duke Huon of Burdeaux V / 1 fayre lady,' quod Huon,
'he and I togyther haue bene a longe space8 beyonde
the see / and companyons together / and we fought the
sowdan of babylon that now is / it is not he that was 8
set there by Huon after that he had slayn ye great
Admyrall gaudes, it is a nother who syn that tyme
cowqueryd4 y* cytye & y* countre of Egypt / many
aduentures Huon and I6 sufferyd, but at the end 12
we dyscumfyted the sowdan and his men6 slayne'7 /
1 pylgrym,' quod9 Clary te, 'I requyre you* shewe me
yf ye know that9 my dere father wyll retorne hether
agayn10 / the whiche is the thynge in the world that 1 16
most desyre ' / ' fayre lady/ quod he, ' I answere you
or11 .ii. monethes be past ye shall se hym here in good
helth' / ' 1 praye 12 to 12 god 18 it may be so,' quod the
lady 18 / i that he maye delyuer my mother out of 20
prysone, where as she 14 is in great pouerte and mysery.'
1T When Huon15 harde16 his doughter, he wold no
lenger hyde hymselfe / but sayd, 'my ryght dere
doughter, or 17 august be past I shall delyuer her or 24
dye in y* payn, for I shall moue18 suche warre agaynat
ye emperoure Therry, that yet or17 I dye I shall stryke
of his hede19 what so euer fall therof ' / when the lady
harde Huon how he sayd that he was her father, she 28
changed coloure and blussyd as rudy as a rose, and
thought to herself by the wordes that he spake that he
was her father, where of she was20 ioyfull, & sayd /
1 vnto. 2 to. 8 time. 4 bothe. 6 haue.
• are. T and destroyed. 8 the faire Ladie.
9 whether. 10 or no. 11 that before.
M— 12 mto our lord. 1S— 13 qouth the Ladie, it may be so.
14 Fol. cxxxv. col. 1. u had well. w and vnderetood.
17 before. u make. 19 from his bodie. 80 right
Digitized by
Ca. CxlvL] HOW HUON DISCOVERS HIMSELF TO HIS DAUGHTER. 551
' A, syr, I praye you yf ye be duke Huon of Burdeaux,
my father,1 shewe me.' / 'my ryght dere doughter,
byleue it suerly, for I wyll no lenger hyde it ' / when
4 the lady hard that he was her father she cleppyd hym, ciariet, right
Joyful, embracee
and .xx. tymes kyssed hym. Then the abbote came her father,
and embrassed hym, and sayd / 'my ryght dere
nephew, the ioy that my harte desyreth2 your comynge The abbot
8 is to me so agreable3 that I can not tell whether I It huo?§ return;
dreme or not that I se youM / then agayn5 enbrassed baUewittrue.
hym, makynge the greatest ioy in the worlde. Also
there was Claryet his doughter, who enbrassed and
12 kyssed hym / then all that were in ye howse came aii in the honee
thether to make6 chere and feest7 / 'fayre nephew,' "
quod the abbot, ' I am sore abasshed that ye be retorned The abbot can-
' not understand
with so small a company.' 1 fayr8 vncle/ quod Huow / why Huon has
16 * it coude be none other wyse; I haue had suche company*
fortunes on9 the see that the moost parte of my men ar but heieamathat
dede and peryshed, and sum by malady, and sum ar panion^»ome are
retorned to theyr owne countrees / and specyaly they h^ntui^edto
20 that went with me ar abydynge at the rocke of the country?1
Adamant, and there al be dede for10 fayme, and they
that were my gydes to haue brought me to11 enphame
ar in lyke wyse dede there' / then12 13 Huon began to Huon relates ail
24 shewe11 the abbot all the aduentures that he had syn ho he has had since
departed fro the noble cy tye of Burdeaux / there were m Bo^d,wu•
sum that hard it that toke it for a mock, & al ye he Some think he is
shewyd of so many great meruaylles / they thoughe14 the
28 moost part of them were lyes / 16 one sayd to an nother,
' great auantage hath these vacaboundes to lye, bycause
they fynde no man to say them naye / & yf any man
say nay, theyr answer© is rudy to saye go and so' /
32 then the abbote sayd, ' fayre nephew, yf I were of y*
1 to. 8 hathe of. 8 acceptable. 4 heere and.
6 hee. • great T feasting. 8 good. 9 vppon.
10 bya 11 vnto u Duke. 13 Fui. cxxxv. col. 2.
14 that. >* and.
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552
huon of burdeux. [Ca. cxlvii.
if the abbot wer* age to bere harneys,1 gladly I wold go with you2 to
would hi go with destroy this Emperoure who hath done you so myche
Huon to deetroy
tiie Emperor, yll ; I shall sende for suche a nombre of men of warre
withhuown*7 and pay them with my tresoure, the whiche I haue 4
o^eTofw^ longe tyme gatheryd togyther, and shal ayed you
Huoft.h*Uaid to make such warre that it shall 8 be euer8 had in
remembrauwce / or elles I wyll dye in the payne, and
all they that shulde go with me / and to cause hym to 8
make you amendes of al the ylles and damages that he
hath done to4 you / yet sum what I haue done all
redy / for it is not long6 that one of the Emperours
nephewes was slayn by my men, and all they that 12
were with hym slayn or taken / for, nephew, I haue
gatheryd togyther as6 great treasoure that I may ther-
wttft wel7 entertayn a .C. M. mew for .ii. yere without
sellynge or laynge to plegge any fote of londe pertenynge 16
to my churche / but as nowe I am so olde that I can
At the abbot is not ryde out, for I am a .C. & xiiii. yere of age / and
one hundred and . •
fourteen years therfore syn8 I can not go wit/i you / I shal abandone
abandon all hie to 4 you all my treasure ; 9 take therof as moche as 20
who*oln takeaa"' it shall please you ' / ' syr/ quod Huon, * ye make me
Jiaia? 80 great an offere that ones or I dye I truste to render©
to4 you the doble10 by the grace of god.'
% 11 How duke Huon of Burdeaux shewyd to 24
his vncle, the abbote of Cluny, all the
aduentures that he had syn he departed
fro the12 cytye of Burdeaux / & how he
gaue ye abbot y* appyll of yought, wherby 28
y° good abbot became agayn to his beaute
that he had when he was of .xxx. yere of
age. Ca. C.xlvii.
1 armour. 1 to ayde you. s~8 alwayes bo. 4 vnto.
6 Binoe. 0 a. 7 omitted. 8 seeing that 9 and.
10 value. 11 Fol. cxzxv. back, col. 1. 18 noble.
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Google
Ca. CxlviL] OP THB AGE OP THE ABBOT OP CLUNY.
553
^hen1 Huon of Bordeaux2 vnderetod
the8 abbot his vncle, and sawe the
fayr ofifere and seruyce that he had
offeryde4 hym, &5 sayd / ' syr, of your
curtesie and largesse, and all the good
that ye haue done to4 me and to my doughter claryet,
god rewarde you for it / trewe it is after that I had fought
8 with the gryffons ; I came to4 a fayr fountayn, & there
by was a tree growynge charged full of fayr fruyte, the
tree was called the tre of yought, of y* which I gaderyd Huon tells how
he gathered the
.iil appyls, wherof ye shall haue one and shall eete it, fruit of the tree of
12 and as sone as ye haue eten thereof wherby ye shal e^oflen one of
become as yonge, and as stronge and lusty as ye were ihJotP£l"rderhe
when ye were of the age of .xxx. yere.' Then there U
was a monke in the howse callyd dan Johan salmet,6 S^"*yoang
16 who began to laugh, and hasted hym to speke, & Thereupon a
monk, Johan
sayd / 'A, syr, what is it that ye saye / thys .ii.M. yere saimet, laughs
there was neuer man at the tree of yought, therfore this tale u fides,
tale is not to be byleuyd* / 7 when Huon harde the
20 monke he waxyde rede for angre, & lyf t vp his staffe Huon waxes
and wolde haue stryken therwith the monke, and8
he had not skept backe, and sayd / ' A, thou false
monke, thou lyest falsly / I haue bene there, and that
24 thou shalt se the profe there 9of whether I say trewe or
not 1 / then the abbot came bytwene them and stoppyd
the stroke / and sayd to4 Huon / ' A, my ryght dere
nephew, apayse yourself ' / and then he sayd to the
28 monke / ' A, thou 10gloutone,10 by the faythe that I owe
to4 my lorde saynt bennet,u thy wordes 12 shall 12 be
sore punysshyd ' / then he causyd the monke to be set and the abbot
r J J 1 J tends the monk
in presone / and then the abbote sayd to4 Huon / 'syr, to prison.
32 I pray you be no longer dyspleasyd' / then Huon toke
1 Duke. 2 had well. 8 good. 4 vnto. 6 ha
• Saliuet. 1 and. 8 if. • Fol. cxxxv. back, col. 2.
io-io groom e. u for.
thou Bhalt
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Google
554
HUON OF BURDEUX. [Cd. CxlviL
Huon tells how
the Admiral of
Persia ate one of
the apples,
and straightway
became fair and
strong as s man
of thirty years,
and how, on
account of this
miracle, all the
men of his realm
became Chris-
Then the abbot,
making the sign
of the cross, took
the apple and
ate it,
and at once
became as a man
of thirty years.
In great Joy he
i Huon.
one of his appyls and toke1 it to his2 vncle the abbote,
and sayd / 1 syr, take this appyll, y* whiche I gaderyd
of the tree of yonght ; I gaderyd8 .iii., and one I gaue
to the admyrall of Perce, and a nother I kept for 4
myself, the which I gyue yon / 4 1 wolde haue gaderyd
mo bat I was defended6 by an auwgell sent fro our
lorde lesu chryst / &, syr, knowe for trought that the
admyrall of perce or* I gaue hym y* appyll he was of 8
the age of .vi. score yere & more / but as soone as he
had eeten therof / he became as fayr and as stronge as
when he was .xxx. yere of age, & he is as nowe one of
the fay rest pryncys of7 the worlde; By the whiche 12
myracle he and all his people of his realme forsoke8
the9 law of macomete and toke on10 them the byleue of
our lorde lesu chryst, and were chrystenyd / & they
that wold not were he wen al to peses / and after that for 16
the loue that he bare11 me, he passed the see with me
with great pusaunce, and we enteryd in to y* sowdans
land / where as we dyscumfyted hym in playne batayll ' /
when the2 abbote12 harde13 his nephew he had great 20
ioy, and toke the appyll / & made therof 14 the synge
of y* crosse, and dyd eete it vp euery dele,15 wherby
incontynent in16 syght of all them that were there
present, he became in to his fyrst youth as he was 24
when he was 17 but of y- age of .xxx, yeres, his whyte
berd fell away & a new berd come / his iowes that
were lene & pale, y* flesse grew again new quycke Hesse,
so that he became a fayre18 man & wel fornyshyd of 28
body and membres / a farer man can10 no man se, nor
lyghter, nor lustyer / wherof he had suche ioyo at his
harte that he ran and enbrasyd Huon, and kyased hym
gaue.
good.
2 therof. 4 and. * forbidden.
• before. 7 in. 8 did forsake. 9 false and detestable.
10 vpon. u to to mee. u had well.
ls and vnderetood. 14 thereon. u whit. 16 the.
17 Fol. cxxxvi. ool. 1. 18 young. 19 could.
Digitized by
Ca. cxlvii.] how the abbot eats the apple of touth.
555
more then x. tymes / whew they that were1 present
saw the3 great merueyll, they were greatly abasshed, &
sayd one to a nother / that Huon was worthy to be
4 byleued / for out of suche a prynces mouthe 8 neuer
Issuyd a ley / there was moche ioy made / the tabels
were set & they went to dyner / there sat the abbote They dine, and
ere well feasted.
and Huon, and claryet his doughter / of there seruyce
8 and meetes I wyll make no rehersall, for they were
rychely seruyd ; after2 they had dyned & grace sayd / After dinner, the
raonkiofthe
all ye monkes of the couent came & knelyd downe convent humbly
before Huon, and humbly requyred hym of pardone for pardon John
12 dan Johan salmet,4 who was to hasty to speke, & all
was but6 throghe nyclygence of yought and yll
aduysed / when Huon saw all the monkes before hym
onf theyr kneys desyryng hym to pardon the monke of
16 his folly. He sayd to7 them, ' syrs, I am content to Huon granu their
request j
fulfyll your desyers / for I am not come hether to
troble any man1 / when the8 abbote9 harde Huon10
pardon his monke, he thanked hym, and sayd / ' syr, the abbot thanks
20 by saynte bennet, yf ye had not pardonyd hym, he
shuld not haue come out of presone this yere ' / then
the monkes went to the pryson, and they shewyd7 the They show the
monke that was in prysone what meruay lies was done marvel* have
24 in his absence / and how theyr abbote, who was a abtence!** hU
.C. and .xiiii. yere of age, was11 become of the age of
.xxx. yeres / 'syrs,' quod he, 'I am glad of my
delyuerance, but I can 12 not byleue it be so as ye say, He win not
J rf believe them until
28 nor I wyll not byleue it tyll 13 I se it ' / then he went in he aeee them,
to the hall whereas the abbote and Huon was14 togyther /
and when he sawe the abbote yonge agayne / then he but when be mw
the abbot young
knelyd downe and cryed Huon mercy / and requryd again, he eri«
Huon mercy, and
32 hym of pardon / y* whiche Huon granted. Then there a*k» hie pardon,
* there. * that 8 (quoth they).
4 Saliuet 6 omitted. 6 vppon. * vnto. 8 good.
• had well. 10 his Nephew. 11 now.
" Fol. cxxxvi. col. 2. 18 vntill. 14 were.
Digitized by
Google
556
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cxlviii.
which Huon
grants.
Haon It to send
for 20,000 men of
war, to fight the
Emperor.
Haon desires to
lead the Emperor
by peaceful
meant to yield
him hie lauds and
selgnories,
and Huon would
even become his
liege man.
That night would
Huon atudy the
matter.
Huon wrote a
letter summoning
his men lying at
Tournous to
come to the abbey
of CI any.
was great ioy / then the abbote sayd / c nephew, send
for men of wane on all sydes / & I shall pay theyr
wages to the nombre of .xx.M. men / for I haue golde
& seiner inought / and let vs send for all our freudes, 4
and we shall be a great nombre of men able to fyght with
y* Emperoure, who hath wrongfully,1 without cause,
dysheryte you, & kepyth your wyfe in prysone, wherof
my hart is so sorowfull that I can no longer endure it ' / 8
* syr,' quod Huon, ' yf I may fynde any other way to
come to passe with the Emperoure / then by spere
and sheylde and no man slayne / then2 1 wold thynke*
I had well spede / f or yf I myght do so moch with the 12
Emperoure that he wolde render to4 me my londes
and synnoryes, & my wyf & men / and that therby I
myght become his lege man / 1 6 thynge I had made
then0 an honorable ende / for I haue done him great 16
damage' / 'fayr nephew,' quod the abbote, 'I wolde
fayne knowe by what maner ye coude bringe this
mater aboute * / 4 vncle,' quod Huon, 4 this nyght I wyl
study on 7 y* mater, y* which I trust to 8 our lord 20
god9 to brynge to a good10 end.'
% How Huofl of Burdeaux departed fro
Cluny & went to y° noble cytye of Maience
vpon a fryday, & how he came nere to4 the 24
Emperoures oratory. Ca. C.xl.viiL
fter that Huon and the12 abbot had
douysed togyther of dyuers thynges /
Huon wrote a letter to4 his men 28
1) ynge at tornus, that they shulde
come to4 hym to the abey of Cluny;
he sent a gentylman of the abey to
1 and. s then after thinke. 8 that 4 vnto.
6 would then. 6 then before thinke.
vppon.
8 in. 9 Iesu chryst 10 and prosperous.
11 Fol. exxxvi. back, col. 1. 18 good.
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Ca. cxlviii.] op huon's wealth.
557
ftche them / 1when he was come to tornus and had
delyueryd his letters to2 Barnarde / they made them
redy, and trussyd theyr sumners and departed8 thence /
4 and they rode so longe that they came in at the gates l*J by Barnard,
they reach the
of the ahey of Cluny / ye same tyme Huon and the abbey, with ail
abbot were lenynge out at a wyndowe / the abbot sawe home?1*1*'
.xv. 8U miners chargyd, & .vii. mules and mulettes / SenTfromT"
8 wherof he had great merueyll of whence they were, marteu ^whora
and sayd to Huon, 'fayre nephew, can ye tell to2 they flBn belo,,g-
whom parteneth4 thes summers, or what be they that
bryngeth them?' / 'syr,' quod Huon, 'know for
12trouthe5 I haue conqueryd them and they ar myn, Huon has
conquered them ;
and yonder is Barnarde that doth conducte them / who they are hu, and
hathe had moche payne and trouble or6 he coude fynde conducting them,
me'/' f ayre nephew,' quod ye abbot, 1 great ioy I haue
16 at my harte that he hathe soughe you so longe to fynde
you at7 last / nor I coude not haue sent a more noble
man / ye ougth greatly to loue hym / and also he
is our kynsman / and alwayes he hath bene to2 you
20 good 8 and trewe ' 9 / * syr,' 8 quod Huon,8 ' in hym
I haue founde all that ye say / and, syr, the great Thew^geet
summer that ye se yonder with the .ii. great coffers bean coffers
well band yd / they be full of presyous stones and stone* a^jewei*.
24 io welles, more worthe then .iiii. good cytyes ; I wyll
leue them here with you to kepe for the maryage of my Huon leares them
doughter/ and with those wordes he kyst her / 1 dere keeping for hi*
nephewe,' quod the10 abbot / * and besyde that ye wyll dmu*hUr,do,rT7*
28 gyue her I shall departe with her largenly of my
treasure ' / therwith 12thether came12 Barnarde and all
the other of his company / 1 when ye abbot perseyuyd
Barnard he came to2 hym13 with his armes abrode and
32 cleppyd and kyssed hym / and made2 hym great feest
1 and. 2 vnto. 8 from. 4 appertaine.
6 that. 6 before. » the. *-* omitted.
• and faithfulL 10 good. u Fol. cxxxvi. back, col. 2.
M-w after Barnarde. 13 right ioyfully.
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558 huon op burdeux. [Ca. exlviii.
The nbbot made a and chere 1to hym1 and to all his company / then
Ba^aM'" honour, duke Huon and y*2 abbot8 and4 Clary te his doughter
The wmpter- went in to theyr chambre and dyscharged the summers
charged, and ail and openyd euery coffer / when the abbot had sene the 4
the coflen opened. wag jn them j ne was neuer so abasahed,
The abbot thinkt and sayd / 'A, Huon, fayr nephew, I thynke ye haue
Huon has richea
enough to buy th« broughe hether ryches to bye therwith the hole realme
whole realm of **
Prance. of france /, then5 Huon toke a color of golde full of 8
precyous stones, that the clerenes of them illumyned all
the howse / 6 Huon dyd put the coler abought his
doughters neke, & kyst her 1in the1 mouth, & sayd /
Huongivee 'my dere7 doughter, I gyue you this ryche1 coler, 12
nicktaceolgoid I neuer gaue you any thyng before / it is eo rych that
e^nerdOU' the stones therin ar worth a realme or a duchy' /
when the lady sawe the rych coler, she was8 ioyfull,
she humbly and knelyd downe before her father and thanked hym 16
" humbly9 / then Huon shewed all his treasure to10 his2
vncle the abbot / 6 when all had bene sene and aweuyd,
Huonappareia ye abbot dyd put them in to coffers / then Huon
prince of high aparalyd hymselfe with a1 rych aparyll / then6 he 20
cS^^upon. semyd11 to be a prynce of hye degre, he was so fayre to
behold that all such as sawe hym had12 pleasur to
behold hym / there he made good chere1* the space of
On the ninth day .viii. dayes / & on 14 the .ix. daye in the mornyng 24
Huoneecretly J ' J °
depart*, accom- he departed thence pryuely, and toke Barnard with
panied by ,
Barnard. hym, w?t/iout15 knowlage of any parson except the
abbot, to 10 whom he sayd / ' 16 vncle, I and Barnarde
Only the abbot wyll departe, and I requyre you17 lat no man lyuynge 28
knowiofthalr , * , , , „ .
know of my departynge as long as ye can kepe 18 it
secrete tyll 19 ye here fro me sum newes ' 20 / ' syr, it
shall be done/ quod the abbot / * and I commend you
i-1 omitted, 2 good. 8 hie vncle. 4 the faire Ladie.
6 Duke. e and. 7 and lotting. 8 right
• humbly before thanked. 10 vnto. n then.
18 great 18 and feasting for. M yppon. u the.
» Faire. " to. » Fol. cxxxvii. col. 1. 18 rntill.
80 tidings.
Digitized by
Ca. cxlviii.] how huon visits the emperor in disguise. 559
to the sauegard of our lorde Iesu cliryst 1 / then Huon Hnon and
it* 11 in / i Barnard take
and Barnarde departed or2 any man were resyn / and their way to
they toke theyr waye 8 to 3 Maience & restyd not tyll4 ™Yres?not tin
4 they came to Coloyno, & the nexte mornynge they cdogne?et° "
rode tyll4 they came within a lege of6 Maience / 6 then when within
they enteryd in to a wode, & there they lyghted / then Mayence, Huon
Huon aparaled hyms[el]fe lyke a pylgrym in habyte, as a pilgrim,
8 hose & shoes / and he toke an herbe and rubbed ther- a^suhwhb
with his vysage, so7 that he semyde that he had bene
in the sonne .x. yere, so that ho was vnknowyn, ^so
that6 Barnard that was with hym coude not knowe Barnard hardly
** knew him.
12 hym by the face / 6 then Barnarde lawghyde / then he
toke hys stafe and skryp, and sayd to8 Barnarde, 1 syr,
go ye9 your waye before in to the cete with our Barnard is to go
m . m . . , andlodgelnthe
horses, and take none aquentance of me thoughe ye se dtj, bat to take
16 me, and take vp sum smal loggyng' / so Barnarde Huon.
wente / on before / and Huon fayre & easly went
after,10 and so enteryd in to the cytye ; And he had
with hym the .xxx. ryche stones in his bosume / when Hnon, with thirty
i , iw v precious stones in
20 he was enterid in to the cytye, he restyd not tyll4 he his bosom, comes
to the Emperor's
came to the palyes / and as he went vp the stayres, palace.
he mette the stewarde of the Emperoufrls howse, to8 He meet* there
the steward,
whom he sayd / ' syr, I praye you in y* honoure of our
24 lorde Iesu chryst, 9 and of the blessed vyrgyn mary
his mother,9 to gyue me sum meet, for I am soo hungry and asks him for
that I can skant11 go on1' my leges, nor I haue no
mony to bye me a morsell of brede' / when the
28 steward13 hard14 the pylgryme, he behelde hym well
and saw how he stafe shakyd in his hande / the which
he thought had bene for15 feblenes and pouerte / and
had of hym great pyte,16 and demaunded17 fro whens
1 and I beseech him humbly that you may haue peace with
the Eraperour Tirrey.
8 before. *-3 towards the Citie of. 4 vntill.
6 the Citie of. 6 and. T in such sort 8 vnto.
• omitted. 10 him. 11 scarce. u vppon.
13 had well. 14 and vnderetood. u with.
M and compassion. 17 of him.
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560 htjon of burdeux. [Ca. cxlviil
he came / 'syr/ 1qnod Huon, 'I come streght fro the
holy sepulture, and I haue enduryd moch pouerte ' 8 j
The steward bids « frende,' quod the stewarde. 'I pray you8 tary4 me
Huon Urry until
he hat carried here a lytell seasone / tyll6 I haue bene in y* presone 4
ducheaa Esclsra- to here6 meet to7 y* duches Esclaramond and to8 other
other prisoner*, presoners, who cryeth out 9 for fayme9 that they ben
in / for yf they be longe in this cayse thai they be in,10
they can not long11 endure18 / for the Emperoure hath 8
takynge suche an inwarde hate to13 her and to13 them
that be14 in presone with her / that he hathe made
They are to be promyse that as soone as Ester be15 past, the lady
killed fire days * r -»
hence. shall be brente 16 and the other17 al hangyd / and 12
this day is sher18 thursdaye, so 19 they haue to lyue but
.v. dayes / and I am ryght sory for y* noble lady that
our Emperoure wyll put her to dethe without20 cause ' /
when Huon21 hard that / he had no membre22 but that 16
Haon sorely trymbelyd, and he cast downe his vysage and began
weeps at this bad
sore23 to wepe, & sufferyd the stewarde to passe and
and retnms into spake no worde24 / but retorned in to the towne and
the town, where '
he is well lodged went & logyd in y* towne ryght heuy and 6orowfull ; 20
by a notable
bargee*. how be it he was ryght ioyfull / 25 that his wyfe was
alyue, for he26 feryd19 she had bene dede ; he logyd in a
notable burgesse howse, who receyued hym well for the
loue of god, but what so euer he had there he coude 24
nother eete nor drynke for sorowe27 that he had at his
To-morrow is hart / then he sayd to7 his host. 'syr, to morowe
Good Friday, ' J
and Huon asks is good f ryday, the which day I thynk the Emperoure
his host if the 7 , » / , , , • ,oa
Emperor does not wyll gyue great almy3 ' / 1 frende, quod his hoost / &
give alms on that
day. 'ye may suerly byleue that the Emperoure wyl gyue as
to morowe great almes, he wyll gyue of his go odes so
1 Fol. cxxxvii. col. 2. 8 and miserie. 8 to. 4 for.
6 vntill. • carie. 7 vnto. 8 the.
9 through famine and rage. *° now. u omitted.
11 it. J3 against 14 are. u is. 14 burnt
17 Prisoners. 18 Shroue. M that 80 a iust
21 had well. 81 nor ioynt n pitifully. 84 vnto him.
85 in. 29 greatly. 87 and greefe.
Digitized by
Ca. cxlviii.] op huon's device. 561
largely to1 al poure men thai 2commeth to2 hym that The Emperor win
day3 shall be4 satysfyed / ye shall not fynde a prynce givelal*ely'
6 of 5 greater almes / & of one thyng I aduertyse you /
4 the Emperoure hathe 6 one coustume, that the fyrst andtothefir«t
pilgrim that
pouor pylgryme that comethe to1 hym to morowe shall cometh to him
be happy / for there is no thynge in ye world, be nothing that he
yt neuer so dere, 7 yf he demaund it of the emperoure
8 it shall not be denyed hym : it must be at the same
owre that the emperour goeth to1 his chapel to say his
ory sons' / when Huon8 vnderstode his hoste / he began
to reioyce, and thought ing hymselfe10 yf he coude
12 in any wyse he wolde be the fyrst that shulde demaund Huon determine*
" tobetheflret,
almes11 / but that shulde be nother golde nor syluer, it and demand hi«
shulde be his wyfe and his men that he hathe in prisoner*,
pryson; and also yf he may he wyll axe therwith
16 his londe12 / Then the hoste went to his reste / &
Huon abode in his chambre alone and slepte not of al Huon paated a
the nyght, but thought how he myght delyuer his considering how
wyfe / and the presoners that be13 with her; and all deUrerWawlfc.
20 nyghte he was in14 his prayers16 desyrynge16 god to
cunsayle and ayde hym to recouer his wyfe.17 Erly
in the mornynge he rose and made hym redy, and in the morning
he goes straight
toke his scrippe and stafe and wente strayte to the to the Emperor'*
24 palays, and sat on18 y* greses wheras the emperour
shuld pas / at whiche tyme the emperour was19 rysen
vp / 20 there were many other pylgrymes that were there m^1fln0^h^>er*
abydynge for ye emperours comynge, and euery man pilgrim* who
" coveted the flr*t
28 couetyd to haue the fyrste gyfte / but Huon dyd so gin.
moch by his subtylte that he was the fyrste that Huon, by hi*
J J J *ubtiety, entered
enteryd into the chapell, and none other parseyuyd the chapel first,
hym / and he dyd hyde hymselfe21 in a corner nere to1
1 vnto. 2-2 if they come vnto. 3 they. * all.
6-6 that doth giue. 6 Fol. cxxxvii. back, col. 1. 7 but.
8 had well. 9 within. 10 that 11 of the Emperour.
12 and Signiores. 13 were. 14 at 16 humbly.
16 our Lord. 17 Escleremond. 18 upon. 19 newe.
20 and. 21 closely.
CHA3L. ROM. Till. O O
Digitized by
562
HUON OF BUBDBUX.
[Ca. cxlix.
and In a eorntr
awalUtha
Emptror's
the emperours oratory, and there he sate stylle without
any worde epekynge, abydyng1 the comynge of the
emperour.
The Emperor
came into the
chapel,
and made hit
prayers before the
altar.
When he was
ready to go into
the oratory, Huon
drew oat a rich
stone of such
virtue, that Itt
owner could not
be overcome by
hit enemy, or
drowned, or
The stone caat
such a brightness
in the chapsl that
How Huon dyd so moche with the em- 4
perour Therry, that he had peas3 / & his
wyfe renderyd to4 hym and all his londys5/
and ho we the emperour brought hym to4
the Abbey of Cluny, where as they found 8
the good abbotte in harnays,6 not know-
ynge7 of the peas that was made.
Ca. Cxlix.
ow shewethe the story8 that anone 12
after that Huon was enteryd into the
chapell / the emperoure came in and
knelyd downe before the aulter and
made his prayers ; 9 many pouer men 16
were there abydynge y* ende of his
prayers, and no man sawe Huon wheras he was bedyn10
in a corner harde by the emperours oratory / when y*
emperour had made his prayers, he rose and tornyd him 20
to have gone into his oratory / and Huon who had great
desyre to be the fyrst & 11 to haue the fyrst gyfte of the
emperoure ; he drewe out of his bage a rych stone / y*
whiche was of suche vertue that who so euer dyd bere 24
it hym coude not be ouer come with his enemye, nor
coud not be drownyd nor brent 12 ; the stone 13 was so
vertuous18 that none coud esteme the valure therof. And
besyde that, it cast such a14 clerenes in the chapell that 28
the emperoure was abashid therof,16 nor he knew not
1 there for. 2 Fol. cxxxvii. back, col. 2. 8 with him.
* vnto. 8 and Signories. • armour. T any thing.
8 Historic. 9 and. 10 closely. 11 Fol. cxxxviii. ool. 1.
12 burnt 13-18 had such great virtue. 14 omitted.
18 therat.
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Ca, cxlix.] of huon's precious stone. 563
fro whence that lyght shulde come / then he behelde the Emptror
Huon and Huon helde1 the stone in his hande, and the light came,
shewyd it to2 the emperour / and when the emperoure Huon showed tiie
4 saw the riche stone he greatly 8dyd cone t 3 it / and etone,
auaunsyd hymselfe and toke it4 of the pylgrymes
hande / who presentyd it to2 hym / when the emperour
had the stone in his hand, he had great ioy at his hart, and the Emperor,
who was cunning
8 for he was cunnynge in the discryuyng of stones, and in preciom
,; , _ _ , \ stones, desires to
8 ware to hymselfe that the pylgryme shulde neuer haue buy it or the
it agayne for any thynge that he coude do / but he USS^ *°ld
thought5 if he wold sell it, he wolde gyue hym as
12 moche golde & syluer as he coud resonably demaunde /
or elles be thought to kepe it styll what so euer fell or even u> keep u
° r J happen what
therof / 6 then the emperoure sayd to2 Huon, 'pyl- might;
gryme, I pray the7 shewe2 me where 8 hast thou get8 he asks Huon
16 this ryche9 stone' / ' syr,' quod Huon, 'I haue brought by it.
it fro beyonde y* see' / 'frond,' quod the emperour,
( wylt thou sel it, and I shall gyue the for it what so euer
thou wylt haue ; and to be in10 suertye to bere awaye
20 my gyfte that I wyll gyue thee for it, I shall cause the
to be conductyd into thyne owne countre wheresoeuer
it be' / 'syr,' quod Huon, 'I wyll gyue it2 you with a Huon win give
good hart : so it be trew that myne host hathe shewed2 Emperor if,
24 me this daye / for he hathe shewed 2 me that your custom? he'wm"
costume is that ye fyrst parsone pylgryme that comethe p^^Ly™'
to2 "you on12 this day," good friday, should haue of hemay
you a gyfte such as he wolde demaund after that ye haue
28 made your praiers to our lorde god ' / ' pylgryme,' quod
the emperoure, 'he that shewed the that said Htrouthu
and therefore what so euer thou demaundeste other
boroughe towne or citye, or what thynge so euer it Thu the Emperor
agrees to do.
32 be / I promyse to gyue the who so euer be dyspleasyd
1 did holde. s vnto. 3-3 desired to haue. 4 out
6 within himself that 6 and. 7 to.
*-* thou hast gotten. 9 and bountifull. 10 the more,
u Fol. cxxxviii. col. 2. u vppon. « being.
14-M that which is true.
0 0 2
Digitized by
564
HUON OP BURDBUX.
[Ca. cxlix.
therwith I graunt it1 the / therfoie demaund what1
thou wylt* / 'syr/ quod Huon, 'of your grace and
fayre gyfte I8 thanke you / therfore, syr, with a good
hart, I do4 gyue you that stone that I delyuerid to5 4
you 6 right* now in the recompence of the cqurtoysy and
Huon wants gyfte that ye haue grauntid6 me, the whiche shall be
nsithw gold nor OJ ^ J ° '
niw. nother golde nor syluer, and, syr, bycause I know sar-
taynly that the renome is ouer al the world that ye be7 8
a iust and a trewe noble man, and that8 ye promyse ye
wyll vpholde and9 neuer swarue fro your promys / and
by cause10 1 knowe suerly that the promys that ye haue
made6 me, ye wyll vpholde of what so euer gyfte I 12
whnttrer it be, desyre to have ' / ' frende/ quod the emperour, 1 1 wyll10
the Emperor will
hold by his you11 know that yf ye demaund .iiii. of my best cityes,
promt*. j 8na|j gVUe vou them sy n 12 1 haue made 10 promys, and 11
god be pleasyd I shal not go fro14 my promyse / for I 16
had rather10 one of my hawdys were cut of then I shulde
be found false of my wordys / & therfore demaunde
and suerly ye shall haue your demaund withe out any
refuse.'15 'syr,' quod Huon, 'I16 thanke you * / and 20
wolde haue kyssyd his f eete / but the emperour wolde not
Hwm then suffer hym, but toke hy m vp / ' syr/ quod Huon, ' fyrste,
» trespasses before all other thynges, I desyre of you pardon / of all
and ill deeds that
he or his men the yll dedis and trespasses that I or my men haue 24
have done against , , . , -
the Emperor; done agaynst you ; and yf ye haue in your preson other
and women mQn o* women partaynynge to6 me or of 17 my lynage
ffilSvIrS that ye wyll delyuer them all to6 me ; and also yf ye
that^ ws towns, naue mJ ^hynge of myne other towne18 / borowe / or 28
cau!« shalibe ^^ell / I requyre you by y* promyse that ye haue
rendered him. made5 me to render them to5 me quyte / syr, any
other thynge I demaunde not* / ' pylgrym/ quod the
emperour, ' make no dought to haue that 8 I haue 32
1 to. 8 so euer. 8 most hartely. 4 omitted.
5 vnto. but euen. 7 are. 8 which.
• kepe and. 10 that 11 well. 18 seeing. w if.
14 for in text, w deniall. w hartely.
17 Fol. czxxviii. back, col. I. 18 or Citie.
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Google
Ca. Cxlix.] HOW HUON PREFERS HIS REQUEST.
565
promysyd1 / therfore I graunt al your desyre / but I The Emperor
, , * » th« uks what
requyre you numbly2 shew8 me what man ye be, & of man thu pilgrim
what countre, and of what lynage, syn4 ye haue desyred
4 of me suche a gyfte ' / ' syr,' quod Huon, ' I am he that The pilgrim ta
* 1 none other than
sumtyme was duke of Biirdeaux, whome ye haue so the Duke of
Bordeaux,
moche hated, I come nowe fro beyonde the se, wheras
I haue endurid moche payne and pouerte. I thanke who thank* our
a i i -r ™ , _ , , , , Lord that he wiU
8 our lorde Iesu Chryst that I haue done so moch that I hare again hia
am nowe agreyd with you, and I shall haue agayne the and ua LmdVn*n'
duches Esclaramonde, my8 wyfe and my men and0
landes7 yf ye wyll 8holde8 your promyse' / when the
12 Emperoure9 vnderstode Huon / all his blode began to
change and10 was a great space or11 he spake any worde,
he was so12 abasshed,13 at14 laste he sayde, * A, Huon, The Emperor la
abashed, and
ar you he by whoiwe I haue sufferyd so many yllys and
1 6 domages, and haue slayne so many of my nephues and
other of my men / I wolde not haue thought that ye wonder* at
Huon's boldness
wolde haue ben so hardy to haue shewed your selfe in thus coming
into his presence.
before me, nor to haue com into my presence, ye haue
20 well ouercome me and enchaunted me ; I had rather
haue lost .iiii of my best cityes, ye and all my countre
brent18 and destroyed / ye16 and my selfe banysshyd out
of myn owne countre for .iii. yere rather than ye ahuld
24 haue thus come to my presence / but syn4 it is thus
knowe for trouthe that17 I haue promysyd8 you I shall The nnperor
mart, however,
vpholde18 / and fro hence forthe in the honoure of the abide by hia
word,
passyon of 19 our lorde Iesu Chryst, and of this good
28 daye on the whiche he was crucyfyed & put to dethe.
I pardon you all myne yll wyll and good wyll, I shall
not be pariurid, your wyfe and your londis,7 & your »nd win render
men; I shall render them into your handes / speke belong to him.
1 vntoyou. 8 to. 3 vnto. 4 seeing. 8 louing.
8 my. T and Signiories.
be as good as your word and vphold.
8 had well heard and. 10 hee. 11 before. n- sore.
» but 14 the. n burnt » omitted. » whioh.
18 and keepe. 18 Fol czxxviii. back, col. 2.
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Google
566
Haon thanks
him, and desire*
to be forgiven.
The Emperor
kissed Haon
in token of
The Emperor
shall have a
double reward.
He ssks of Huon
hie adventures.
Haon will relate
them after the
divine service hss
been read.
The Emperor
led Haon with
him into the
oratory,
and all the lords
marvel who the
pilgrim can be
to whom the
Emperor doe* so
much honour.
The Emperor and
Huon dins
together,
and afterwards
Huon relates bis
adventures:
how he had
spoken with
Judas;
HUON OP BURDEUI. [Ca. CXlix.
therof who lyste / otherwyse shall it not he, nor I wyl
neuer do the contrary' / then Huon knelyd downe
"before the emperour and1 thanked hym, and desyred
hym to forgeue hym all his trespasses / ' Huon,' quod 4
the emperoure, 'god forgeue you,2 and as for me, with a
good harte, I do pardon you ' / then the emperoure toke
Huon by the hande and toke hym vp and kyste hym
•on the mouth* in token of good peas and amyte / ' syr,' 8
quod Houn, 'great grace haue I found in you synne4
ye kepe8 your promyse / but, syr, if it maye please our
lorde god / your guerdon shall be double* / 'Huon,'
quod y* emperour, 'I requyre you* shewe me. of your 12
newes and aduentures that ye haue had 11 / 'syr,' quod
Huon with a good wyll, ' after that your deuyne ser-
uyce be8 done, and the passyon of our lorde Iesu
Chryste red* / 'Huon/ quod the emperour, 'I 9 can 16
you thanke9 for that you saye ' / then the emperour /
toke Huon by the hand and led hym into his oratory
with him / wheras they harde the deuyne seruyce
wherof many lordes and knyghtes10 were sore abasshed, 20
and hade11 maruayle what pylgreme it was that y*
emperoure dyd so moche honoure vnto. After that the
deuine seruyce was done, the emperour retourned into
his paleis holdynge Huon by the hande / the dyner 24
was made red y, 11 they wasshed theyr handes and sate
downe to dyner / and when dyner was 'done and the
tables taken up, then in the emperours presence and
in 18 all the 14 lordes there, Huon shewed all his 28
16aduenturc8.
1T Fyrste he shewed howe he had passed the Goulfe
and spoken with Iudas / and after16 howe by fortune
1 right humbly.
4
* thee. *-* verie kindly,
seeing. * and vpholde. 8 to.
' since you departed from the Citie of Bordeaux. 8 is.
9 giue you good thanks. 10 and Lordes. 11 great
M and. 18 of. M other. » Fol. cxxxix. col. 1.
16 afterward.
Digitized by
Ca. Cxlix.] HOW THE EMPEROR YIELDS TO HUON.
567
of the se he aryued at the castell of the Adamante, how he had
and howe his company dyed there for1 famyne: and and beautiful
shewed2 of the beaute of that* castell and of the great Adamant;
4 ryches therin / and after4 how he was borne6 thence
by a gryffon to a great rocke, and howe he slewe .v. how he had slain
the grifflm ,
yonge Gryffons and the olde Gryffon that brought hym
thether, wherof he hathe left at Cluny the f ote of the and brought to
8 same / then he shewed of the fountayne and of the SthTowiriffln;
tree of youth, and how he gathered therof three fayre how he gathered
apples, and more he wolde naue gathered but that our therof" oath;
lord god commaunded hym by his aungel that he shuld
12 not be so hardy6 to gather any more, and after that he
shewed how7 he had passed the Goulfe of perse in bow he pawed
great parell8 / and sayd, furthermore, ' syr, when I was Ind gathwed ^
passed that Goulfe I gathered many precious stones; predo^etonei;
16 that9 I haue geuen you was one of them, the whiche
stone is of great vertue / 10 then I came to the great
city of Thauris in Perse, whereas I founde a noble
admyrall, an olde auncyent knyght; and he shewed11
20 me great courtoyses, and I gaue him one of myne apples how the admiral
to ete ; and as sone as he had eten therof he became12 young again by
as yong as he was when he was but of .xxx. yere of age / Se^pUeT* °'
and I thynke7 fro thens hether can not be founde a
24 fayrer prynce; and he was before of a18 .vi. score and
.vii yeres of age / and, syr, because I desyre withe all
my harte to haue youre good grace, and that good peas
and ferme maye be had betwene you and me, I wyll Haon
* the third apple
28 gyue you the thyrde apple y* which 14 1 kepte for my to the j
selfe, by the whiche yf ye do ete it ye shall become
agayn as yong and as lusty15 as ye were when ye were16
of the age of .xxx. yerys.' The emperoure when he
harde that the apple that Huon wolde geue hym to eate
* by. 2 declared. 8 the. 4 afterward.
6 caried from. 8 as. * that 8 and daunger.
• which. » and. "to. 12 to be. u omitted.
14 FoL cxxxix. ool. 2. u and as stronge.
w but.
Digitized by
Google
568 huon op burdeux. [Ca. cxlix.
The Emperor U shulde cause hym to retourne to his yonge age agayne /
Joyful at the
thought b« will he was so ioyful that he neuer made suche chere before
moreT^01"" in all his lyfe to any man as he dyd then to1 Hnon /
and sayde howe* he wolde be his frend for euer, and 4
neuer fayle hym, and sayd, c frend, I abandon my body
and offen Huon and my 8 goodes at your pleasure / and I geue you two
two good cities , . , , % , ,
and w.ooo men to good cityes to encrese your syngnorye / and besyde that
aid him in war.
I promyse you if ye haue any busynes to do, I shall 8
socoure you with .lx.4 thousande men, and shall ayde
you as y* father shulde do the sone. Therwith Huon
wolde haue kneled downe to haue thanked the emperour,
but he wolde not suffer hym : 6 then Huon toke the apple 1 2
out of his bage and delyuered it to1 the emperoure, the
emperoure who was sore desyrous to knowe yf he shuld
waxe yorg agayne by reason of etinge of the apple ; he
callyd to1 hym his lordes6 to the entent* they shulde 16
se that maruayle / 6 when the emperour had the apple
The Emperor in his hand he put it7 to his mouthe and dyd eat it
eata the apple,
euery dele,8 and as he was etynge therof his age
chaunged in to youthe, and by that tyme he had eten 20
and become* at all the apple / his whyght berde fell of and the skynne
onoe m ruddy and *
strong aa a man chaungyd lyke a man of .xxx. yeres of age / and also
7m' his face and all his body that before was all ryuyled*
and rugged and pale, became then as whyght and10 24
ruddy, and felte hymselfe as lyght and fresshe & as
quycke to do any thynge, and as stronge as he was
au present when he was of the age of .xxx. yeres / wherof all that
marvel greatly,
were11 present had 12great maruayle and were13 ioyful of 28
that aduenture that was fallen to1 the emperoure whom
and ten the they louyd / then they sayd, 1 a,8 syT, suche a gyfte was
Kmperor he w
should praise God, neuer geueu to any emperoure or kynge / well ye ought
that he ever was _ _
acquainted with to praise our lord god, what so euer losse y[e] 14 haue 32
had / that euer ye were aquaynted with duke Huon.'
1 vnto. 2 that * omitted. 4 fortie. 6 and.
• and Barons. * in. 8 whit • wrinkled. 10 as. 11 there.
19 Fol. cxxxix. back, col. 1. » right. M yt in uxt.
Digitized by
Ca. cl.] OF THE RELEASE OF ESCLARAMONDE. 569
% How the emperour made good cher to1
2 Huon of Burdeaux. Ca. C.xl[= cl]
Hen the emperour saw hymselfe waxe
yonge agayne, he was so ioyf all that he
wyste not what to do; then he clyppyd in great joy,
and kyssed huon more then .x. tymes, embrace? Huon,
sayenge, 1 my ryghte dere frende, I
8 praye you3 forgeue me all the y lies 4 that I haue done1 and asks him to
you, and for the sorowe and payne5 that I haue caused heTu dw'bim.
your noble wyfe and men to suffer ' / then the emperoure
called to1 hym two of his lordes, and sayd / 'syrs,. I
12 wyll that all the pouer people that be in my chapell AUthapoorara
to be clothed and
this day be newly aparayled, and to haue mete and fed by the
drynke suffycye?it, for the loue of the passyow of our bounty7^',
lorde Iesu chryst, who this day hath done me that grace
16 that I am retourned fro age to youthe.' 'syr/ qtiod they,
'your commaundemente shall be done* / 6 they went Two ibrd»
execute the
& executed his pleasure. Then Duke Huon aprochyd command.
to1 the emperoure, and sayd, 'syr, I desyre humbly Hoon numbly
desires that hie
20 your grace to delyuer my wyfe7 and my men out of wife and men be
, , . . deliTered oat of
preson/ ' syr/ quod the emperoure, ' it is good reason priaon.
that I do it ' / then he sente for the gayler who had the
lady and the other presoners in his kepynge, and com-
24 maunded hym that the lady Esclaramond & the other
presoners shuld be brought into the hall / the gayler
went to the pre8son, & Huon with hym / 9 when they Huon goea with
the gaoler to the
came thether / Huon wente to the dore & cryed out priaon door,
28 aloude, and sayd, 'A, my ryght swete syster, I byleue and criaa aloud
* * ' * *° * * hia fear that the
ye10 haue bene here11 but yl loged ; I haue great fere that lady cannot
endure her
by reason of y* paynes that ye haue endund ye can not ■uneringe much
long contynue / sartaynely yf ye dye I shal neuer haue
1 vnto. 8 Duke. 3 to. 1 and dammagea.
6 paine before sorowe. 6 then. T Escleremood.
8 Fol. cxxxix. back, col. 2. 9 and. 10 that
11 here after lodged.
Digitized by
570
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. :L
The lady Kaclara-
monde thought
•he had heard
that voice before,
and when she
recognised it
as Huon's, ahe
fainted for very
Joj.
When ehe revived
•he cried oat that
•he had been so
long left alone tn
pain and misery.
Haon's sorrow
at hearing theee
words was so
great that he
could only weep.
The gaoler
brought up
EscUramonde.
Hnon and she
embrace each
other,
and fall down In a
the lords revive
them,
ioy.'1 when the lady2 Esclaramond 3 hard the voice of
hym that spake at the dore / she stode styl and studyed
what voyce it myght be : for she thought4 she had
hard that voyce before 6 / & when she had mused a 4
lytell,6 she thought it shulde be the voyce of Huon her
husbond : wherof she had suche ioy & myrth at her
hart, that of a great season she coude not speke, but fell
in a swoune in the preson : & when she rcuyued & 8
came agayne to herself e, she cryed out & said, * a, my7
dere lorde and husband, long haue you lefte me in
Dayne & mysery all a lone in this stynkynge & horrible
preson, in the handes of them that loue you nothynge / 12
and haue sufferyd moche payne, colde, and hunger;
and8 great pouerte and in great fere of dethe.'9
1T when Huon10 harde11 his dere wyfe 12speke12 so pe-
tuously / so row 13 so closid his hart that he had no power 16
to speke one word, and the teres fell14 in his eyen1*
for15 petye that he had of his17 wyfe18 / also y€ gayler
for very petye19 was constrayned to wepe / and so went
downe into y* preson & brought the lady vp / and 20
then Huon and she beheld eche other, and coude speke
no worde of a great season : 20 but ran and enbraced and
kyssed eche other / & so fell downe21 bothe in a traunce /
and so22 laye tyll23 other knyghtes came thether 24& 24
ferid24 that they had bene ded ; there was none but that
wepte for petye / then the emperour cam thether hym-
selfe, and sore wepte and repented hym selfe of the ylles
that he had 25 caused M the lady27 to suffer: 28 then 28
the29 lordes reuyued them / then they clyppyd & kyssyd
1 at my heart. 2 Duchesse. 3 hnd well,
within herself that 8 that time. 6 while. 7 right
8 haue endured. • and desperation. 10 had well.
11 and vnderstood. 18 who spake. 13 and greefe,
14 from. u and trickled downe his cheekes. 10 the.
17 louing. 18 Escleremond and. 18 that he had.
80 space. 21 to the ground. 88 they. 83 vntill.
fearing. 86 Fol. dx. (xl.) col. 1. * 89 done to.
87 and made her. 88 and. 88 knightes and.
Digitized by
Ca. cl.] OP THE PEACE BETWEEN HUON AND THE EMPEROR. 571
together / and Huon sayd / ' fayre lady, I requyre you1 »nd Huon asks
hl« wife's pardon
pardon me2 that I haue taryed so longe fro you, & for hiving tarried
haue lef te you in suche pouerte / payne / & parell8 of "° tong fr°m hir"
4 deth. I4 haue scapyd* the which I6 thanke7 god
of his grace ' / ' syr,' quod she, * we ought greatly to
thanke8 god, when he hathe sente vs that grace to se
eche other & to come together9 / and that y* haue
8 peas with y* emperour ' / then the gayler went to all y* The gaoler
releases all
presons, and toke out al Huons men, and brought them Hnon'* men,
to10 hym, who had great ioye when they saw theyr Neatly totee
lorde and mayster in sauegarde, and thankyd our lord htia'
12 god, and humblye saluted Huon, and sayd / 'a,11 syr,
blessed be the oure of your comynge, wherby we ar
delyuered fro the paynes, trauayles / and pouertes /
that we haue bene in.' ' My ryght dere frendes,' quod
16 Huon / ' thus goeth the worlde ; you and I ar bound to
thanke7 god of that he sendeth to10 vs* / then the em-
perour toke Huon by the one hande and Esclaramond
by the other, and led them into his palays, where as
20 the tables were sette / and there sate downe to gether The Emperor d*
the emperour and Huon and the duches / and al the with Huon and
presoners at another table / and were all rychly seruyd / the prisoners are
of theyr metys and seruyces & ioye that they made, I and an tu^y
24 wyll make therof but small rehersayle. And when *rv*L
they had al dyned, the emperour ordayned ladyes &
damoyselles to serue the duches Esclaramond, and
ordayned chaumbers for y* duke and for11 her, & for all chamber* are
prepared for them
28 the other / they were18 sarued of all thynges that they ail,
desyred / and they had newe aparayle acordynge to theyr
desgres / anone y* newes13 was knowen in the citye of and the newe of
the peaee between
the peas14 betwene Huon and the emperour, & how 15 he the Emperor and
Huon is spread
32 had his wyfe15 renderyd to10 hym, & his men delyuered through the dty.
1 to. * in. s daunger. * and. 6 for.
0 humbly. 7 our Lord. 8 almigbtie. 9 againe.
10 vnto. 11 omitted. u there. 13 and tiding**.
" made. 16 Fol. clx. (xl). col 2.
16 the Duchess Escleremond.
Digitized by
572 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. cL
out of preson / wherof Barnard, as he was in y* towne
Barnard hasten* harkenynge for newes, was ryght ioyf ull / & wente in
hast to1 the palays, wheras he found Huon in his
chambre, with his wyfe y* fayre Esclaramond / 2 as sone 4
as he saw the duches, the water fell fro his eyen for ioy ;
The lady knew then he saluted Huon and the duches / *y* lady knew
him at once. ' " "
gre^tT"ehthat he ^m i110011*1711611^ an(* sayde / ' a, syr Barnard, wel I
ba« sought her ought to loue and to cherysshe you / that ye haue so 8
lord and brought '
him hither. sought for my lorde and husbonde as 8 to bryng3 hym
nether.' * Madame/ quod he, 1 1 haue done no thynge
Barnard telle of but that4 I was bounde5 to do / 6 great payne &
Uuon'i sufferings. '
trauayle7 my lorde hath suffered* / 8 then he shewed 12
suche newes as he knewe, wherof many great lordes
and knyghtes had great ioy to here hym for the mer-
At the end of uaylles that he shewed8 / Thus,9 when they had bene
Emperor an-h* there the space of .viiL dayes, and that theyr men were 16
inunt^nof well refresshed / then10 the emperour assembelyd11 his
^o^ouhe** lordes, and sayd / 'syrs, it is my wyll to lede and con-
^eauTtoeet ^ucte duke Huon & the duches to Burdeaux, to set
■toTo^ttoS^ tnem in possessyon of theyr londes and sygnoryes. *I 20
Ten^onaand ^aue -x- ^ m*n *° g° ^th me an(* them, and to
t^n^him. krynge me agayne hether to Magence: acordynge to
his commaund ement the men were made redy / & when
the emperour had ordeyned for Huons estate as it 24
aparteyned for hym & his wyfe & his men, & when
euery thynge was redy, they 11 mounted onu theyr horses,
& the duches had a ryche lytter / then18 they departed
They depart from fro14 Magence / & secyd not tyll they came within .ii. 28
If ayence, and ' * "
reach cimiy. leges of the abbey of Cluny / the good abbot, who knew
The abbot, haying nothynge of the agrement betwene the emperour & Huon,
heard no news of
uuon, had had gathered together of men of warre a15 .xx. M., &
1 vnto. 8 and.
*— 5 that now at last through your tedious trauaile you haue
found him, and brought.
4 what 6 in duty. 6 I am sory for the. r that
8 discoursed vnto them. 8 Then. 10 omitted.
" all. w vpon< w ^ h the Citie of. * about
Digitized by
Ca. cli.] of huon's return to burdeux. 573
they were logyd in Hhe tonne of Cluny : and the abbot gathers w.ooo
J ^ i men of war, who
was aduertysed of the emperoors comynge into those are lodged in the
town of Cluny.
party es, and he hard no newes of Huon, wherof he
4 was2 sorowfull8 / & thought that the emperoure had when he saw the
Emperor coming,
taken Huon presoner : then he issued out of the towne, the abbot ranged
hie men in order
and renged his men in good order of batayle without of battle, and
the town in a fayre playne, there abydynge for y* Emperor.
8 emperoure, whome he sawe comynge.
«[ How the emperour aryuyde at Cluny, and
how the abbot set on4 hym / and of y5
pease that was ther made, and how the
12 emperour conueyed Huon to Burdeaux, &
rewderyd to hym al his londys, and of the
partitfge of 5 the emperour, and how Huon
made his prouysion to go to kyng oberon.
16 Ca. cli.
Hen the emperour saw the town of The Emperor
Cluny, he demaunded of Huon0 to to whom belongs
whome partayned that towne / i bjt,' Suny!™ °f
quod he, 'it 7 is belonginge7 to an it belong* to
Hoon's uncle,
yncle of myne, who is abbot there,8 who is abbot
& we must pas that waye, and also I must nodes speke
with hym or9 I go to Burdeaux ' / the same tyme the
24 abbot, who was10 on a pusaunte11 courser well armed at The abbot saw
the Emperor
all peces,12 sawe the emperoure comynge towardes coming,
Cluny / 18 then he sayd to his men, 'syrs, thynke this ^s^hortshu
day to do wel14 / for yonder before vs we may se y*
28 emperoure our enemye comynge, wherfore we cannot
scape without batayle ; I am sure he hath taken Huon
* Fol. dx. (xl.) back, col. 1. 8 right.
8 and sore displeased. 4 vpon. 6 them and.
6 if he could tell him. 7~ 7 belongeth. 8 of.
9 before. 10 then mounted. 11 and strong.
18 points. 13 and. 14 and valiantly.
Digitized by
574 HUON OF BURDEUX. [CflL ell
my nephue, but by the faythe that I owe to my lord1
*saynte Benet, my patron / that takynge shalbe derely
bought.' then they couched theyr speres and sporyd
theyr horses, & com rynnynge towardes the emperour ; 4
and when the emperour saw them, he called Huon,
The Emperor and sayd / 1 syr, yonder ye maye se men of wane
the meaning of all armed come rynnyng agaynst vs / I wote not what
thwPm«of w»r. they thynke3 to do / but they seme to be oure enemyes 8
as far as I can parseyue / 4 they be a great nombre,*
Huon explains they are to be doughted and feryd ' / 1 syr/ quod Huon,
that the abbot
doe* not know of 'it is myne vncle the abbot of Cluny, who hath reysed
the Emperor and* vp his men to socoure me / for he is not aduerteysed of 13
Huon. ^e peas made betwene you and me, 6he thynkethe7
The abbot dashes ye haue taken roe presoner.' Hherwith the abbot
Empero?i men, dasshed in among the emperours company, and tbe
o^the^c^ani fyrst that he mette he ran hym clene thrughe with his 16
spere / and so he seruid the second, thyrde, and
fourth / and whew his spere was broken, he drewe out
his sworde / wherwith he bet downe the Almaynes,
that it was maruayle to behold hym / and then came in 20
his men / and they dyd suche dedys of armes that
parforce the almayns were fayne to recule,8 & many
The Emperor, tn were slayne9 and cast10 to the erthe. when y0 emperour
biased hSoii for saw that he was in a11 great rage, and sayd to12 Huon / 24
these m deeda. ( g^ ^ are greatly to blame to suffer your vncles men
Hoon is sorry, to sle myne' / 'syr/ quod Huon, 'I am ryght sory
and ready to » n» i i i i . _
make amends. of13 that they haue done / I am redy to make you
araendes in what 14wyse14 it shall please you': ther-28
Haon rides to the with duke Huon rode to13 the15 abbot his vncle / and
great displeasure, in great dyspleasure sayd, ( yncle, ye haue done 18 ryght
yll.' 16 when the abbot17 parseyued Huon, he was ryght
ioyous18 / and he enbrasid hym and sayd / *fayre32
1 and to. * Fol. clx. (xl.) back, ooL 2. 3 meane.
4 and. * and therfore. • surely. T that.
8 retire backe. 9 and destroyed. 10 downe.
11 omitted. 11 vnto. 13 for. 14— 14 80 euer.
16 good. great euill and 17 saw &. 18 ioyfull
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cH.] OF THE ERROR OF THE ABBOT OF CLUNT. 575
nephue, I thought1 the emperour had taken you The abbot
presoner, & wold haue put you to deth / I knew not EmpSror^d
that ye had peas with 2hym.' then he made his men prtloner^aad
4 to re tray e 3 hacke fro the almayns; 4 then he and Huon U£ni(£,lm
together come to5 the emperour; then4 the abbot SlwJwlmS]
saluted hym, and sayde / « syr, I pray you6 pardon me *nadu £u™
in that I haue thus come agaynst you / for sartaynly I JjJJJJJJJk Mki
8 had thought ye wolde haue hanged & slayne my £^™^™r to
nephue, duke Huon of Burdeaux, nor I knew not that
there was any peas betwene you / therfore, syr, I
requyre you pardon me / and I offer my self e to make
12 to you a mendes at the deuyce7 of your cunsayle* /
syr/ quod the emperour, ' I pardon you for the loue of 8 and for love of
Huon the
iuke Huon,9 whom I take as10 my11 specyall frende.' Emperor doeaeo.
Thus as ye haue hard the peas was made betwene the
16 emperoure and the abbot of Cluny / Then they rode
together tyl12 they came to5 Cluny, where y* emperour The abbot
. #t i iii reoeived the
was recey ayd with great loye / when the good abbot Emperor with
had receyuyd the emperour and logyd hym in the oiunyj^**
20 abbey, then he came to 5 ye duches Esclaramond,
and enbracid and kyssed her, and sayd, 1 my ryght and wekomee
dere nese, your comynge13 hether is 14 to me greatly tneducheee
agreable,14 well I am pleasid to se you hole and in good
21 poynt,15 & I am sore dyspleased for the great y lies 18 and
pouertyes that ye haue endured, yf I myght a mended
it / but syn it is the wyll and pleasure of our lorde Iesu
chryst, bothe you and we all ought to be content,
28 blessed be his name ' / ' fayre17 vncle,' quod the duches /
' greatly we ought to thanke and to cherysshe you / for
ye haue bene father and refuge of my doughter Claryet,
whome I desyre greatly to se ' / then y*17 abbot led the The duchwa
J e J ' J greaUy desiraa to
32 duches18 into the chambre wheras her doughter Claryet aa« her daughter,
1 that. 1 Fol. clxi. (xli.) col. 1. 3 retire. « and.
6 vnto. 6 to. 7 aduice. 8 that I beare vnto.
• of Bourdeaux. 10 for. 11 faithfull and. 12 vntill.
13 vnto me. 14~ 14 greatly acceptable. 15 health.
16 euiU. 17 good. 18 EscleremoncL
Digitized by
676
HOON OF BUBDEUX.
[Ca. clL
and is Indeed
Joyful to find her
•o beautiful and
good.
They dine all
together;
the duchess
cannot take her
eyes off Clarlet.
Huon tells the
duchess the
Emperor desires
to see Clarlet.
The Emperor
embraces her,
and praises bar
beauty.
was, who came and knelyd led1 downe before her
mother / 2 when ye duches8 saw her / it was no
maruayle thoughe she was ioyfull at her harte, for
when 48he sawe her so fayre and so well endroctryned5 / 4
ye may well thynke that her ioy excedyd all other /
she enbraced and kyssid her more then .xx. tymis, and
said, ' my dere doughter, synne I saw you laste, I haue
endured great6 mysery / but thankes be geuen to our 8
lorde Iesu chryst and to his swete mother / your father
and I ar come together,7 and haue peas withe the
emperour ' / then they went into the chambre wheras
there dyner was aparayled8 redy for them, and there 12
dyned together with great consolacyon, and all that
dyner tyme the duches coude not cast her eyen fro ye
regardynge of her doughter Claryet / for the great
beautye that she saw9 in her / and when they had 16
dyned, the lordes and knyghtes and squyers cam to se
the ladyes as they were acustomed to do ; and as they
were there deuysynge,10 Huon enteryd into the chambre,
and 11 his vncle the abbot11 with hym, and they said tou 20
the duches, 13 ' lady, ye muste come to 12 the emperoure
and brynge your doughter with you, for he desyrethe
greatly to se her.' then the lady, who was redy to do
her husbondes commaundement, whente into y' hall, 24
and her doughter with her, where as they founde
the emperour, who receyuyd them with great ioye / and
toke the young lady Claryet in his armes & kyssed her
swetely, and sayd / ' my ryght dere doughter, your 28
comyng hether is to me ryght agreable 14 / god parforme
in you thai 15fayleth ;15 as for beaulte ye fayle1* not* /
' Huon/ quod the emperoure, ' great graces17 ye ought
1 so in text 8 and. 8 her mother.
4 Fol. clxi. (xli.) col. 2. 6 educated. 6 pouertie and.
7 in sauegard. 8 prepared. 9 and perceiued.
10 together. ll— 11 the good abbot his vncle. 18 vnto.
13 Faire. 14 acceptable. **-16 which wanteth.
16 want. 17 thanks.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cli.] HOW THE ABBOT RECEIVES THE EMPEROR. 577
to render to1 our lorde lesu chryst, that he is so The Emperor tells
Uuon that he
fryndely to1 you as to sende you such a chyld as ought to render
this lady is here before me, for I thynke that of beauty ouTLord Jesus
... , . ,, , ioi« . . Christ for all hie
4 this day there is no lady nor damosel* leuing in this goodness to him.
world that may3 compare with your 4doughter ' / ' syr/
quod Huon, 'I pray to* god to parfourme5 that7
she wantethe* / great pleasure had the emperoure to
8 regarde8 the damoysell, and so liad all other9 that were
there present / thus as ye haue hard, the emperoure was
reseyued at Cluny / & was greatly feasted by ye abbote
there, for as sone as the emperoure was come thether,
12 the10 abbot sente ouer all the cuntre for ladyes and The abbot Bends
all over the
damosels to feste the emperoure / 11 there they were a12 country for ladies
.iii. dayes with great iustis and sportes / 11 when they ™te^*thV°
departed there was nother lady nor damoysel but that Fw^Tidaye
16 the emperoure gaue her some gyfte / the fourtbe daye ufd^StJ*11*1*
after that the emperour had hard mas,13 and his14 T^^thehey
caryage redy, then he and duke Huon, and the duches ^Sfiady wme
Esclaramonde and Claryet her doughter, departed fro Jjj^ foarth d,iy
20 Cluny, & with them the good abbot who brought them ^S^gSS^
to15 Burdeaux / for he louyd so moche16 Huon and the monde Wld her
* n daughter, and the
Duches and Claryet whorae he had brought vp.that he good abbot set out
' , . -O r> for Bordeaux.
wolde not abandon them so sone ; Huon sent barnard Huon tend.
, Barnard on first
24 before to1 17 Burdeaux, syngnyfyenge1 them of the city to warn the city
of the emperoure commyug and his, and of the peas ofthei^comln*•
made betwene the emperour and hym / Barnard
departed and was wel receyuyd at Burdeaux ; then he He ie weu
28 assembelyd together all the burgesses of the citye, and when he has uu
his news to the
shewed1 them of y* emperoure comynge thether, and burgesses,
withe hym duke Huon and the duches Esclaramond
and claryet theyr doughter, and of the peas that
1 vnto. 1 that is. 3 is able to.
4 Fol. clxi. (xli.) back, col. 1. 6 vnto our Lord.
6 in her. 7 which. 8 behold.
0 Lords, Ladies, and Damsels. 10 good. 11 and.
12 omitted. 13 Seruioe. 14 baggage and.
16 vnto the Citie ot 16 well. 17 the citie of.
CHARL. ROM. VIII. P P
Digitized by
578
HUON OF BURDBUX.
[Ca. ell
they send
immediately to
Blaye and
Geronell.and over
all the country of
Burdeloys ;
all the noblemen
and burgesses
hasten to
Bordeaux to
receive their
Duke.
Tliey ride out on
horseback to meet
him;
they salute the
Kmperor,
who delivers to
them their
rightful lord,
quit of fealties
and homages.
They praise the
Emperor for his
justice to them
while they were
under him.
The Emperor it
Joyful to be so
praised before
Huon.
They all ride in
state through the
streets to the
palace.
The streets are
well adorned,
and in the
windows are
ladles and
maidens singing
melodiously.
was made betwene the emperour and1 Huon / tbes
newes were sent incontynent to Blaye and Geronyll-
and oner all the countre of Burdeloys / 2 then all noble,
men as well as burgesses came hastely to8 Burdeaux for 4
to receyue theyr ryghtfull lorde, duke Huon. 2 when
they were there assembelid, they mun4ted on6 theyr
horses and rode forthe to mete the emperour and duke
Huon theyr naturall lorde / they were together a6 .vi. 8
thousande horses / when they aproched nere tos the
emperoure, they saluted hym, to8 whome the emperour
sayd openly / ' al ye syrs, noble men & burgesses that
bathe before this time made to8 me feaulte and 12
homage / I delyuer you quyte in to the handes of your
ryght naturall lorde, as ye haue bene before tyme /
and I quyte clerely your homages & feaulties done to8
mo ' / then they all thanked the emperour of his good 16
iustyce and reason that haue alwayes done to8 them in
the seson whyles they were vnder hym / the emperour
was7 ioyfull that they so praysed him before duke
Huon ; 2 then they cam to 3 duke Huon and to the 20
duches8 and to Claryet,9 & dyd to8 them theyr
reuerence acordyng; thus they cam to3 the citye of
Burdeaux, wheras they were ioyfully receyued, & a
clothe of estate was borne ouer10 the emperour, vnder 24
the which he rode, styl holdynge Huon by the hand,
tyll 11 they came to8 the paleys / the stretes were
strawed with grene herbes and j*usshes, and hangyd
rychely / the wyndowes garnysshed with ladyes and 28
damoysels, burgesses / and maydens, melodyously
syngynge / wherof the emperoure was7 ioyfull / the
children rynnynge in the stretes2 cryenge nowell12
for18 ioye14 that they had of the comynge of theyr 32
1 Duke. 8 and. 8 vnto.
4 Fol. clxi. (xli.) back, col. 2. 6 vppon. • about
7 right 8 E8cleremond his wife. 9 their Daughter.
10 before. 11 vntill. 18 noel, noel. 13 the great
14 and mirth.
Digitized by
Ca. ell] OP THE DEPARTURE OP THE EMPEROR. 579
lorde & lady; when they were come to1 the palays / On reaching the
* palace they go to
they alyghted and wente to theyr chaumbers redy the chambers
w ready for them*
apoynted for them / yf I wolde reherse y* ioyes and
4 sportes and solempnytes that was made at2 Burdeaux
it shulde be noyfull3 and ouer longe to declare it / for
the feaste4 was suche that no man as then leuynge had and for eight daya
there is such ■
sene any suche, the 6 which endured6 .viii. dayes / rejoicing as no
8 duringe the whiche tyme the emperoure declared to1 Men before,
them of that countre the peas that was made betwene
hym and duke Huon, and howe he wolde delyuer
all his londes7 in to his handes, and clerely aquyte
12 euery man of theyr feaulte & hommage to hym made,
whereof euery man was ioyfull / & on8 the .ix. daye on the ninth day
that the emperour shuld depart, he called duke Huon uk^^eawof
to1 hym, and sayd, 'my ryght dere frend, he that Huon'
161 loue best in this worlde, if any warre or busynes and promises to
hap to fal to1 you / let me haue knowlege therof / with men of anna
and I shall send you .xl.M. men of armes and myselfe needTam1?011
in parson to come and9 ayde10 you ' / * syr/ quod Huon,
20 'of y* courtoyse that ye offer me, I11 thanke you, and Huon thanks
alwayes I shal repute myselfe as your trewe seruant ever be hia true
& feythfull frend.' Then the emperour went to the Suifai friend.
duches12 and toke his leue of her, and of 18 Claryet her The Emperor
24 doughter, and14 kyssed them at his departynge, and SO duchess and tier
he dyd all19 other ladys and damoysellis, and gaue tfveattomriL
eche18 of them some gyfte; he gaue ryche gyftes to1 tolachofthe
the duches and to her doughter / 17 the;* he toke his tfveason^gm.
28 leue and mounted on8 his horse, and so issued out of
the towne18 / duke Huon & the19 abbot of Cluny Duke Huon and
the abbot accom-
conueyed hym a20 .ii. leges, then they toke ther leue21 panynimforiwo
1 vnto. 3 the noble Citie of. 3 too tedious.
4 and cheere. 6 Fol. cxliil (should be cxlii.) ool. 1.
6 for the space of. 7 and Signiories. 8 vppon. 8 to.
10 and succour. 11 hartely. 13 Escleremond.
13 the faire Ladie. 14 embraced and. 16 the.
16 euerie one. 17 and. 18 citie of Bourdeaux and.
19 good. 30 about.
31 of the Emperour aud of his Lords and Kuightes.
P P 2
Digitized by
580
HUON OF BUKDKUX.
[Ca.di
return to
Bordeaux.
When he hud
sojourned there
eitfht days, Huon
visited all hie
towns and castles;
he returned to
Bordeaux, and
remained there a
mouth.
Huon reminds his
wife how Oberon
has given him
all the realm of
Fairyland, and
made him promise
after four years
had passed to go
to him, to be put
in possession of
the realm.
If Huon fail to
go Oberon will
utterly destroy
him, and now,
therefore, it is
necessary for
Huon to go.
He leaves his
wife in Barnard's
care,
and his dsughter
in that of the
Huon leaves with
the abbot his
riches and
precious stones
as dowry for his
daughter.
and retorned to1 Burdeaux / then after that duke*
Huon had soiorned there an3 .viiL dayes, he rode to1
Geronyl and to Blames, and to1 all other townes and
castelles, where he was receyuyd with great ioy,4 and 4
set offycere in them / then he retourned agayne to5
Burdeaux to the duches6 his wyfe / & after that he
taryed there8 a monethe / duke Huon deuysed with his
wyfe in the presence of the7 abbot his vncle, & of 8
Bernarde,8 & sayd, 'my ryght dere wyfe, he that
rememberethe not the goodnes 9done to1 hym, may be
reputed as vncourtoys ;10 I say it bycause ye know well
that kyng Oberon hath done1 vs great good, & hath 12
delyueryd vs out of many great parelles of deth, and as
ye sawe but late by the .iL knyghtes that rescued you
fro the dethe and fro the parell11 that ye were in / aud
ye knowe well 12 the last tyme that kynge Oberon 16
went13 fro Burdeaux, he gaue me all his realme of the
Fayry / & the pusaunce that he hath there / and he
made me to promyse14 that after that .iiii. yeres were
passed that I shulde come to1 hym, and that he wolde 20
then put me in pocessyon of his realme / and he sayd
that yf I fay led my day he wolde vterly dystroy me /
ye know15 what hath fallen to1 me or16 this by brekyng
of his commaundement / and therfore, dere lady and 24
wyf, it is necessary that I go to1 hym ; 17 1 shall leue
you with Barnarde, who shall haue the kepynge of my
londes & of you / and as for my doughter, I wyl leue
her with the abbot here, myn vncle, / who I desyre 28
here before you / that he wyll kepe & gouerne my
doughter Claryte / and with hym I wyll leue all my
ryches and precyous stones that I brough with me / to
the entent to mary her so1* it be to a man of great 32
I vnto. 8 omitted. s about 4 and mirth.
6 vnto the Citie of. 6 Escleremond. 7 good.
8 his Coozen. 9 Fol. oxliii[ii]. col 2. 10 vngratefufl.
II daunger. 11 that. 13 departed. 14 hvm.
w well. "> before. 17 and.
Digitized by
Ca. clii.] how huon sets out for fairyland.
581
valure / but I wyll not that she be maried to1 any she it not to
_ . . itoT marry a mail for
parsone for riches, but a paraone that is worthy* I hit wealth, bat for
wolde shuld haue her / for she hath and shall haue Wi worth,nWM'
4 ryches ynoughe for her selfe and for a maw of great
auctoryte' / 'fayre nephue,' quod y* abbot, ^your
goynge shal be to3 me dysplesant4 yf I myght amende
it / yf god wyll no man leuynge shall haue your
8 doughter my nece in maryage, without6 he be a man of
hye parentage and garnysshed with vertues and good The abbot has
v enough treasure
maners; and as for your ryches6 she shall not nede to himself to dower
ha7ue any therof, for I haue treasure8 ynoughe to mary window? nof*
_ n , , . therefore need
1 2 her nobly e. Horn's richee.
% How Duke Huon deuysed with the duches
his wyfe of his departynge / and how she
sayd she wold go with hym, and how he
16 lefte his doughter and lond9 in the kepyng
of his vncle, the10 abbot of Cluny, & of
Barnarde his cosyn. Ca. C.Hi.
Hew the duches11 hard her husbonde
the duke make his deuyses to go to1
kynge Oberon, ye maye well byleue12
she had great dolour13 at her hart, and The duches* was
then all wepynge she kneled downe ih^ktfiiwt
24 before her husbonde, and sayd, *my ryght dere lorde, anrbegThimto
and14 god wyll ye shall not go one fote but that I wyll Snuh*rwith
go with you / yf ye take any yll or anoyauwce I wyll she win share
with him both
haue 15 my part / 10 yf ye haue any good aduenture I wr adventure
and ill fortune*
28 wyll17 part with you; 18 for without mo ye shall not
1 vnto. 2 and valiant 3 vnto after displeasing.
4 displeasing. 6 except. 6 pearles and Ieweles.
7 Fol. cxliii[ii]. back, col. 1. 8 and ryches.
9 and Signiorie8. 10 good. 11 Escleremond had well.
" that 13 and greefe. " if.
15 Fol. cxliii[ii]. back, col. 2. M and. 17 haue my.
"-is omitted.
Digitized by
Google
582
HUON OP BURDECX.
[Ca. clil
Th« voyag* will
be a bard one,
bat the dacheu
would rather
endure anything
than abide with-
out Uuon.
As she is so
determined, Huon
allows her to
acoompany him.
The abbot and
Barnard are
displeased,
and try to dis-
suade him from
this, bat in Tain.
Huon recom-
mends his
daughter and
lands into the
keeping of his
ancle and of
Barnard.
departe18 / for your longe absence hatho ben ryght harde
for me to endure.' 'fayer lady,' quod Huon, 'I pray
you1 for bere your goynge, and abyde bere witb your
dougbter, for ye vyage sbal be sore for you to do*; here 4
I sbal leue Barnard2 and myn vncle, tbes abbot, and
they sbal be to4 you as faders.' 'syr,' quod she, 'I
shall haue meny y lies 6 to abyde here without you / 1
bad rather to iwdure what so euer god do6 send vs to 8
gether then to abyde here without you.'7 thus, as8 ye
haue hard,9 for eny excusasyon10 or shewynge11 that
Huon kowde shew to4 the duches,12 he kowde not tome
her fro hyr opynyon, But that she wold in eny wyse 12
go with him. whew Huon sawe that, he sayde, 'my
ryghte dere lady, syn it 18plese you18 to go witb me and
to be contente what so euer god do sende vs, other good
or yll,14 your companye plesythe me,15 and I am ryghte 16
ioyous18 therof ' / when the good abbot and Barnard17
hard18 the wyll19 of 20 Huon and of the duches Esclara-
monde his wyfe, they were sore displeasyd therwith, yf
they coude in any wyse haue let it21 / but they coude 20
not turne hym for any thynge22 they coude do / Then
Huon sayd to4 the8 Abbot, 'syr,28 I leue witb you my
londes24 and my dougbter tyll25 I retourne agayne /
the which shall be as shortely as I maye / But of force 24
nowe I am dreuen to go to26 take possessyon of the
real me that kynge Oberon hathe geuen1 me / therfore,
fayre vncle & cosyn Barnarde, to4 you I recommende
my dougbter, whom I loue enterly, and all my londis 28
and syngnoryes, I leue all in your kepynge tyll25 my
retourne / and with you, myne vncle, I leue27 my trea-
1 to. 2 my Coo ten. B good. 4 vnto.
* sorowes. 6 shall 7 your company. 8 omitted.
9 heere before thai 10 excuse. 11 reason.
u his wyfe. 13-13 your pleasure. 14 euill. 16 well.
16 ioyfull. lT had well. 18 and vnderstood.
19 and pleasure. 10 Duke. 21 them. M that
83 Faire vncle. 24 Signiories. 25 vntill. 24 and.
27 all.
Digitized by
Ca. cliii.] how esclaramondb accompanies huox. 583
sure1 and precious stones for the maryage 2 of my
doughter, whome I leue in youre kepynge' / 'fayre
nephue,' quod the8 abbot, 'syn4 it is your pleasure, I
4 shall kepe her as well as thoughe she were myne owne
chylde.' 'Fayre8 vncle,' quod Huon, *I pray you that Huon request*
, ^ . the abbot to tend
the Gryffons fote that I brought with me, 5 send it fro the griftWe root
me to5 y* yonge kynge Loys of Fraunce, and salute louu ofPrLoe"*
8 hym fro me and present it to6 hym to do therwith his MaprMeMt'
pleasure' / 'syr,' quod the8 abbot, 'or7 Ester be come
your message shall be done ' / and 8ye whiche was8 done, Thu m done,
. and the young
and9 the yonge kynge was ioyfull therof / and caused king, much
12 it to be hanged in his paleys : and after10 by kynge gm^honguap
Phelyp it was hanged in the holy chappell, where as it King'phuip after
is 11 as yette.11 Now let vs leue spekynge of the Gryffons honglnttw holy
fote and retourne to our" mater. " JjT U *
16 % How Huon toke leue of his doughter and
of the8 Abbot his vncle, and of Barnard his
cosyn, and enteryd into the ryuer of geroune,
and the duches with hym, and of the strange
20 fortunes that they hade. Ca. Cliii.
Hen the3 abbot and Barnard had well The abbot and
Barnard promise
vnderstonde Huon and had hard his to take good care
wyll13 / they answered, that as for his and daughter,
londes14 and for his doughter he shulde
not nede to care / but they sayd it but are aorry that
lie most under*
greatly dyspleased them, the vyage that they were in take thu royage.
mynd to do / but syn it was his pleasure so to do it
28 was reason that they shuld be content / 15then Huon18 Huon ordered
Barnard to pre-
ordeyned that Barnarde shulde make redy a lytel pare a nttie boat
. to take them
shyppe, aparayled and garnysshed with vytayles and do,™ the river
Garonne,
1 treasure after precious stones. 8 Fol. cxliii. col. 1.
s good. 4 seeing. 6~5 may be sent vnto. 6 vnto.
* before. 8 8 that being. 9 omitted. 18 afterwards,
ii— 11 vntill this day. 12 former. 13 and pleasure.
14 and Signiories. 15 and. w he.
Digitized by
584
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. cliiL
and a gnat ahip
to bt rmdj at iU
Huon Uk* with
him six knights
and a doxsn
•enranU.
Ha and Eaelara-
monde embrace
Claris*,
and can apeak no
word, »o great la
their grief at
leaving her.
Clariet herself
makes pitiful
The abbot gives
Huon a hallowed
stool for a parting
gift.
They sail down
the Garonne in
the little boat,
and at the mouth
embark In the big
ship.
other thynges necessary, and that another great shyp
shiild3 be made redy at the mouthe of the see to enter3
it when they were out of the ryuer of Geroune / the
whiche thynge was done / then he toke .vL knyghtes 4
of his owne4 and a dozen saruauntes / and when Huon
aawe euery thynge redy and had shewed his enterpryse
to6 his noble9 men and to the men of his countre, and
that euery thynge was redy,7 then he toke his doughter 8
in his armes and kyssed her more then .z. tymes, and
in lyke wyse so dyd Esclaramond her mother, and her
hart was so closed with sorowe8 that she coude speke
no word / for the departyng fro her doughter / ye may 12
well thynke that great was the sorowe there at theyr
departynge, for he that had bene there and sene the
doloure and petefull complayntes that the lady Claryet
made for the departynge of her father and mother with 16
whome she had not bene no longe season, there is not
so harde a harte but that nedys9 must haue taken parte
of her sorowe / for there was neuer sene so heuy a
departynge. Then Huon, all wepynge, enbrased y*10 20
abbot, his vncle / who gaue Huon at his departynge a
halo wed stoole, the which after dyd good saruyce to5
Huon and to Esclaramond. Also Huon toke leue of
Barnard11 / then y* duches sayd to6 the abbot & to 24
Barnarde / 'syrs, to6 you two I do recommends my
doughter* / thus Huon departed / "they went to the
posterne, and there they founde redy theyr lytell shyp
and entered into it / & so made sayle downe alonge the 28
ryuer of Gerund, and when they came to the mouthe
of y* see they toke theyr great shyppe and so made
sayle and had good wynd, so that shortely they were
far of fro any lond, & were in the hye se13 the space of 32
1 Fol. cxliii. col. 2. * to. » into.
4 of his owne after seruaunts. 6 vnto. 6 omitted.
7 fournished. 8 and greefe. • he. 10 good.
11 his Coozen. 12 and. 13 for.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cliv.] OP A MIGHTY STORM. 585
.vi dayes, 1and on2 the .viL daye a wynde arose with with a fair wind
suche an orryble tempest that they were dreuen into d********
, , , Ontheeeventh
the great spanysshe see, and were so far fro any * great storm
4 londe that they wyst not where they were / and ener u?eVspani*h
the tenipeste encreasyd in such wyse that there was tol°thly
neuer none suche sene nor hard8 before / the waues Se^u!e?wberd
were lyke mountaynes, and lyke to a swalowed in4 the
8 shyp / so thai som tyme there entered into the shyppe
a tonne of water at ones.
% How Huon lost all his men, and the shyp
braste,5 and howe he & the duches sauyd
12 themselfe on2 a borde, and came6 and
aryued at the castel of the monkes.
Ca. Cliiii.
Hen7 Huon8 and the duches9 his wyfe
sawe 10 this tourment so great & so
horryble,10 they were in great fere of Huonan4w«wif«
. . to are in great fear
dethe / "they complayned greatly12 of death:
.theyr doughter Claryet whom they
20 had lefte at Burdeaux. Then Huon, who had with
hym in his bag .ix. of his good 18 precyous stones, he
drewe out two of them, and knewe the vertuc and
bounte of them, 14 he toke14 his wyfe one of them
24 and sayde, 'my dere15 wyfe, holde this stone in your but the knight
remember* that
hand and naue no fere / for the vertue of the stone wyl the virtue of the
not let you perysshe, nor me nother' / he that had hard ^Thand^*" ^
the cry and lamentacyons that the maryners made pre*erve iwn*
28 wolde haue had petye18 of them, for they sawe well
17 they must be perysshed17 / Huon and Esclaramonde
1 Fol. cxliii. back, col. 1. 1 vppon. 8 of. 4 vp.
5 brake. 6 rame in text. 1 Duke. 8 of Bourdeaux.
* Escleremond. 10-10 these great and suddaine tempests.
11 and. w for. 18 deere. 14~ u and gaue.
16 and louing. 16 and compassion.
1J— 17 that they should all perish and.
Digitized by
586
HUON OF BUR DEUX.
[Ca. dir.
Th« ship's Bidet
bunt and tiu
wave* euUr.
All are drowned
but Huon and
Eaclaramonde.
They float eaftly
on a table.
Huon grieree for
theloeeof hia
companions*
were on1 ther knees sore wepynge, holdyng ech other
2 by the hand, humbley prayynge to our lorde Iesu
cryst to haue pete and compassyon of them, and to
brynge them to8 Bum port in saue garde of ther lyues. 4
great & horryble was the tempest, & long enduryde /
so that the helme, mast, and saylles 4 all to brast4 /
and when the shyp was without a sterne to gyd yt, the
great vaues enteryd in8 so that the shype was full of 8
water, wherby it was constrayned to synke into the
see, so0 that it was all couered with water, & all that
were within7 drowned and perysshed excepte Huon
and Esclararaonde, who sate together on1 a table 12
flotynge vpon the see / so that by the grace of 8 god
and* bounte10 of the presyous stones that was7 on1
them they were saued / and when they sawe theyr
shyp all to peces and theyr men drowned,11 and them 16
selfe flotynge on1 the see / wherof Huon had suche
sorowe12 that18 petye it was to se hym, and sayde / 'a,
14 very god,14 why was I euer borne into this world /
when I am so enf ortunat that I can haue no man 20
to serue me but at last they ende theyr lyues in my
seruyce myserably. A, 15good lorde,15 why doste thou
suffer me so longe to leue ' / then the duches conforted
hym as moche as she coude, and sayde / ' a syr, leue 24
your sorowe / and pray 18 to god and to y* vyrgyn Mary
his mother16 that we myght aryue at some good porte ' /
thus the17 duches18 comforted19 Huon her husbond;
how be it she was in as great fere, & not without30 28
cause / 21thu8 they floted on1 y* see greatly bewaylynge
I vpon. 1 Fol. cxliii. hack, col. 2. 8 vnto.
4-4 burst all to pieces. 6 to it 6 in such sort.
7 were. 8 our Lord. 9 by the great 10 and vertue.
II and perished. 12 and greefe at his heart.
13 great l4~14 good Lord. *~16 my God.
ie-16 vnto our Lord God for his mercie and his grace, and
to haue pittie and compassion of vs.
w noble. 18 Escleremoud. w Duke. 80 a.
2* and.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. Cliv.] HOW HUON AND ESCLARAMONDE REACH LAND.
587
the dethe of theyr men whome they saw perysshe before
theyr eyen. Then Huon, as fare of as he myght se, he
sa we a castell stondynge on1 a rocke, the which semyd h« g^afcroffa
J , J dark and black
4 darke & blacke; 2 then he lauded8 god, prayenge hym cMtkonaroek.
deuoutly4 to brynge hym6 thether in sane 6gard.
then the see was peasyble / and the tempest sessed /
and the wynd fresshe, the whiche draue them in a
8 short space to 7 ya porte vnder the rocke : and when
they were nere to the londe Huon and the duches h« and hu wife
waded to7 the londe, holdynge eche other by the rtMhUnd'
hand : when they were on1 the drye londe they knelyd
12 downe and lyfte vp theyr eyen to7 the8 heuen, and and thank Christ
made theyr deuout prayers to7 our lord Iesu chryst, Son!"1' pP8,,nra"
desyrynge hym to haue petye and compassion of the
sowles of his9 men that he10 sawe drowned11 / then they
16 rose vp & sawe a lytell pathe 12 to the castell warde12 /
they entered into 13 the waye18 / 2 when they came nere7
the castell they sawe a great ryuer goynge14 rounde Th« «uu* u rery
a bought 13 the castel18 / and saw15 the castel18 of a8 rivar goat round
20 marueylous17 beautye, thynkynge15 they neuer sawe no
suche before / the towres were couered with gleterynge u»* towtw are
golde, shynynge so bryghte as thoughe the eonne 18had tfiturinJ*oid.
shone18 theron: also they sawe an auncyent church a chnrch la hard
by, tells ring out
24 ioynyng to the castell with a goodly steple full of from u* ataapu.
belles / the whiche began to sowne, wherof Huon had
great maruayle / for he saw nother man nor woman
comynge nor goynge / and when he had well regarded
28 y* castell he came to7 the gate and saw how15 there were
.iii. breges to pas or19 he coude enter : when Huon sawe Thratbridgatara
sawe so fayre a castell, he that is lorde therof semeth to
1 vpon. 1 and. 3 and praised our Lord.
* humbly. 6 them. 6 Fol. cxliiii. col. 1. T vnto.
8 omitted. 9 their. 10 they. 11 and perished.
**— 12 way lying straight towardes the castle and. u it
14 running. u that. 16 was. 17 great.
18-is ^ ghine. w before. »-» good Lord.
laantarad.
538
HUON OF BURDECX.
[Ca. cliv.
Huon thinks it
must be the castle
of Momur,
belonging to
Oberon.
Esclararaonde
doubta this.
Three monks in
white apparel
salute Huon by
They own the
and tnrlte him to
be a great1 man / for yf there were within it2 .xL men
to kepe it and garnysshed with vytailes, it wold neuer
be wonne for any man leuynge' / so long Huon behelde
this castell that he forgate3 his sorow, the castell 4
pleasyd hym so well / and s*yd to4 the duches5 /
' dame,6 I byleue suerly this is the castell of Momur
partaynynge to4 kynge Oberon, we maye well Uhanke8
god that he hath brought vs hether / we shall 8
se hym ; ye knowe well9 he hathe promysed to geue
me his realme and all his dyngnyte ' / ' syr/ quod the
duches, 4 1 haue hard saye or10 this that Momure is a
great and11 noble citye, & full of people of all sortes / 12
wherfore ye may well parsayue that this is not that
citye, it may well be that this castell is bis ' / 4 Dame,' 12
quod Huon, 4 the kynge hath that pusaunce that he
may make citye or castell at his pleasure ' / 4 syr/ quod 1 6
she, 4 1 byleue it well ' / then Huon toke his way to ye
gate / and as he wente deuysynge with18 Esclaramonde
his wyfe, he sawe before hym .iiii. monkes in whyghte
aparell / & when they came to4 hym they sayd / 20
4 Syr duke of Burdeaux, of your comynge we are ryght
ioyf till, for a more noble man came not here of a long
season, god bles you and y* duches your wyfe ' / 4 syrs,'
quod Huon, 4 god saue you; I pray you14 she we me 24
what ye be and ho we 16 hathe shewed you my name,
and who is lorde and gouernour of this castell ' / 4 syr,'
quod one of the monkes, 4 this castell is ours, and here
is no gouernour but I and my bretherne / we make 28
none answere to4 any lorde leuynge / therfore, yf it
please you to enter, we shall make you as good10 chere
as we can, 17 and 17 yf it please you to tary 17 here a17 viii.
or xv. dayes, ye ahalbe welcome, & when ye departe we 32
1 and a noble. 5 but. 3 had forgotten. 4 vnto.
6 his Wife. 6 Madame. 7 Fol. cxliiii. col. 2.
8 our Lord. 9 well. 10 before. 11 a. u Madame.
13 the Duchesse. 14 to. u who. 16 feast and. *
0mitted.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. cliV.] OP THE MYSTERIOUS CASTLE. 58*9
shal gyue you to cary with you mete and drynke suffy-
cyent to serue you and your wyfe for xv dayes, & ye
shall haue nede therof or1 ye fynd out kynge Oberon* /
4'syrs/ quod2 Huon, 'of your courtoysy Is thanke
you ' J then Huon entered into the castell with them,
and came into a great hall well garnysshed4 with ryche Huon and his wife
are led Into a hall
pyllers of wyghte marble vauted aboue, and rychly of wondrous
8 paynted with 6golde and asure, and set full of rych gr*ndeur#
precyous stones, ye which cast a great lyght, for by
reason of the6 stonis at mydnyght it was as bryght as
at none dayes / Huon and Esclaramond thought7 they
12 neuer sawe so ryche a thynge / 'dame/8 quod Huon,
' this place is delectable 1 / then they were brought into
a rych chaumbre wheras the tables were set,9 garnysshed
withe any10 thynge that a man wold11 wysshe for.
16 Then came in many seruauntes, some brought in the servant* wait on
them with bating
basyns of golde garnysshed12 witJt precyous stones, and of gold,
some brought in13 to well and water / and they gaue the
water to14 Huon and to15 Esclaramowde to wasshe theyr
20 handes : then they sate downe at the table, and dyd eate a rich banquet is
served :
& drynke at theyr pleasure / for they had there mete
and drynke at theyr wysshe / when they had eten16 and
the clothes taken vp, then there was spyccs broughte /9
24 Huon dyd eate therof, but Esclaramond wold not17
taste therof ; then they were brought in to a gardayne afterwards Huon
to sporte them / 9 when they were there they thoughte7 are brought into a
they had bene in paradyse, for the swetnes of the beautifta garden-
28 flowers and frutes vpon euery tre / and they harde
dyuers18 byrdes synge raelodyously / 'syrs/ quod Huo;i
to14 the monkys, 'well ye ought to thanke oure lorde
Iesu chryst that he hathe geuen you suche a place to
32 serue hym in / and, syre, I praye you when it is
1 before. 1 Duke. * most hartely. 4 and adorned.
6 Fol. cxliiii. back, col. 1. 6 precious. 7 that.
8 Madame. 9 and. 10 euerie. 11 coulde.
12 adorned. 13 the. 14 vnto. 16 omitted.
11 at their pleasure. 17 so much as. w kind of.
Digitized by
£90 HUON OP burdeux. [Ca. clir.
mydnyght awake me, to the entent that I may ryse to
go & here your mataynes1 when ye synge2 it* / ' syr/
quod one of them, 'I shall awake you when8 tyme ia
that ye may come and here vs.' 'syr/ quod Huon, 4
a rich chamber u * therin shall ye do me great pleasure ' / then4 Huon
prepared for them.
and Esclaramond were brought8 to a ryche chaumbre
well aparayled6 with clothes of golde & sylke, wherin
was a rych7 bed, wherin Huon &8 9 his wyfe laye in10 8
together : the chaumbre was11 ryche, for all the nyghte
it was as clere as thoughe the chaumbre had ben full of
torches, by reason of 8 shynynge of the precyous stones /
Ail the farnitore for there was no banke12 nor poste but that were set ful 12
precious stone, of ryche stones / the ryches of that chaumbre can13 not
shining like the ^e dy8cryUed j and therin was paynted with gold and
asure all the batayles of Troye / 14 In this ryche chaumbre
and bed they slepte tyll16 the oure of mydnyght was 16
come, 14 then all the monkes rose, and the bellis 18 range
At midnight to matens ; 16 then there came a monke to 17 Huon and
Huon and his wife , ,
attend matins. waked hym, and said / 'syr, it is18 tyme that ye ryse,
19 it is past mydnyght, make you redy to come and 20
here 20 matens' 20 / then Huon rose and called vp21 his
wyfe / 22 she arose, & thus they made them redy, and
The church is wente to17 the churche, the whiche was paued with a
resplendent with . 1.1/1 11 * « *
marble and amber whight marble powdered with flowre delyses of golde 24
andcrysui. entermedelyd with red roses / and the vault was
checkered with Ambre and Chrystall, & at euery poynt
a ryche stone / wherby there was such clerenes that
there neded no candelight; when4 Huon and8 Esclara- 28
monde 23 saw the23 beautye and ryches of the churche
they were sore abasshed, and made the syngne of the
1 Seruice. 2 doe. 3 the. 4 Duke. 6 in.
6 fournished. 7 and sumptuous. 8 the Duchesse.
• Fol. cxliiii. back, col. 2. 10 omitted. 11 faire and.
12 bench. 13 coulde. 14 and. " vntiil.
16-w began to ringe to Seruice. 17 vnto. 18 no we,
19 for. 80-80 our Seruice.
21 the Duchesse Escleremond. 82 then.
83-23 had well scene and beheld the great.
Digitized by
Ca. cliv.] HOW THE MATINS ARB SAID AT MIDNIGHT.
691
crosse on1 theyr forhed for the marueyles that they saw
there / 2 they entered into the quere and kneled downe
before the hye aulter and made theyr prayers to3 god, Ham and Escia-
ramonde praj to
4 desyrynge hym to be theyr sauegarde and to brynge4 God to be their
& * ** sareguard, end
them 6 in suertye to5 kynge Oberon / then the abbot bring them to
be^an 6ye mate/is,6 and red the fyrst lesson ; and when
he was in the halfe therof he helde his peas, and
8 departed clene out of the churche / then the pryour
began another lesson, and in lyke wyse lefte it in the
myddes and departed out of ye churche / thus 7dyd8
euery monke one after another, and there were .xxxii. Thirty-two monke
take part In the
12 monkes, and in y* myddes of euery lesson and salme service: each
they departed out of the churche one after another, and departs with
when Huon sawe and hard that he was soreg abasshed, ^ul*11*11*1'
and sware that or10 the last monke departed he wold
16 knowe the cause why they dyd so / 11 then he went to12
the last monke, who wolde haue gone out of the
churche / and Huon toke the halowed stole that he
had in his bosum, & dyd cast it aboute the monkes
20 necke, & helde it fast with bothe his handes / when Huon stops the
last monk left in
the monke saw how he was holden he was sorowfull the church, and
and angery, and dyd what he coude to haue scaped, Xe^theVhlfve
but he coude not / 11 when he saw that he coude not kft*
24 scape, he enbraced Huon, and prayed hym humbly
to let hym go after his bretherne : •sartaynely,' quod
Huon, 'out of my handes ye shall not scape ty 11 13
ye haue shewed me why ye synge your 6matensc after
28 the maner that ye do, & euer to leue the one half
vnsonge, and why the abbot and the other monkes do
departe one after a nother without any word spekynge
to12 me, and without14 ye shew me the truth, with my
32 sworde I shall stryke your15 hede to y* braynes * / then
1 vpon. 8 then. 3 vnto our Lord. 4 conduct
*~6 surely vnto. 8-6 Seruice. 7 Fol. cxlv. col. 1.
8 did after monke. 9 dismayed and. 10 before.
11 and.
13 vnto.
13 vntill.
14 except
15 thy.
592
HUOtf OF BURDEUX.
[Co. civ.
sympely the monke fayned to wepe, and prayed Huon
The monk refuses to suffer hym to departe, and sayde, ' syr, I am he that
Haon threaten* yesternyght brought you to your chaumbre, and made
u siaj him. » j faen 2uon> who had his sword in the one 4
hande and the stole in the other hande, sayde, ' without
ly% show1 me mydemaunde, shortely I shal stryke of
thy hede ' / whew the monke hard that he was in great
fere / and stode styll as thoughe he wold geue none 8
answere ; 2 when Huon sawe that, he lyfte vp his sword
in fear, the monk to haue stryken hym / but then incontynente the
monke ioyned his han3des and cryed for marcy,
and promysed hym to shewe hym the trouthe of his 12
demaunde.
% How4 Huon made semblant to haue slayne
the monke, holdynge hym faste with the
stole, to the entente he shulde shewe to5 16
hym the trouthe. Ca. C.lv.
Hen Huon put vp his sworde, and the
monke began to speke, and sayde /
' syr, know for trouthe that al we that 20
be here ar of the yll6 aungelles that
were chasyd out of paradyse with
lucyfer, who by his pryde wolde con-
pare to7 god / he made vs beleue that we shuld be as 24
good as god,8 & we byleued him / but as for vs that be
here in this howse god was with vs displeasyd, and
therby we were condempned to be conuersante abrode
in the worlde amonge men and women when we lyste / 28
and some be in lykenes of beres : 2 some lyke w are-
wolf es, and thus we shall be vnto9 the day of iudg-
ment, and some other ther be that be tempters of men
& women, desyryng to brynge them to dampnacyon / 32
1-1 thou shewest vnto. 2 and. 8 Fol. cxlv. col. 2.
* Duke. 6 vnto. 8 euill. 7 with.
8 him8etfe. 9 vntill.
All the monks are
eyil angels chaned
with Lucifer from
paradise.
God has con-
demned them to
▼arioos shapes
and hateful
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Google
Ca. civ.] OF THE MARVELLOUS HISTORY OF THE MONKS.
593
& som ther be in the ayre and foloweth the thonder-
ynges and terapestes / and some be on1 the se and
drowne many a man and perysshe the shyppes wherof,
4 but late ye were in iopardye / for yf it had not bene Huon and hu wife
for the great vertue2 that is in the precyous stones that dagger from u^m
ye and your wyfe bereth vpon8 you both ye & your ^k>MUitone«
wyfe had bene perished for euer / and other ther be preterved thera'
8 that ar 4 in the botome of hell, wheras they tourment
the pouer sowles, and there is Lucifer and they that be
most yll5 with hym, and thoughe they were ones fayre
now they be fowle and 8 yll fygured,8 and they shall
12 neuer departe7 thense / but we that be here yet we hope
to come to8 saluacyow. 9 Thus we shall be as longe as
it please god ' / then Huon demaunded the cause why
they began the lessons in theyr matens10 and to leue it
16 in the myddes, and euery monke to depart11 one after
another. 1 Syr,' quod y* monke, ' our lorde Iesu chryst
hathe not as yet geuen vs that dyngnyte nor power to
make an ende of our deuyne seruyce / but we haue Thej itm posaen
20 that grace in this world that we haue all our desyres, marvei°-working
and to be conuersant amonge the people, &12 as well as P°wer* °f
they of the fayrey / there is nothynge but by wyssh-
ynge we can haue it incontynent / 18 when we wyll it
24 is in oure power to make towne or castell set vpon hye
rockes closyd with ryuers berynge shyppes / and we
haue mynsterels, halles, and chaumbers garnysshed and
ordeyned as ye haue sene herewith-in. Also we haue
28 wyne and vytayle, and fysshe and flesshe at our plea-
sure ; this castell that ye se and church14 was yester- The awtie nnd
nyght made by the fayrey / but one owre before15 ye they now stand.
f came hether / before12 here was nother towre nor wall hour on the" "
32 nor water nor rocke, and nothynge but a fayre grene16 prevl<m8day*
1 vpon. 1 and bounte. 8 about
4 Fol. cxlv. back, col. 1. 6 euill. misfigured.
7 from. 8 vnto. 9 but 10 seruice. " go.
12 omitted. 13 and. M and church after castell.
16 that. 18 great.
CHABL. BOM. VIII. q Q
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Google
594
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. c\v.
The monk fetrt
the abbot will
punuh him for
that revealing all
to Huon.
Huon uke the
road to Oberon'e
When daylight
comet, cattle and
church have
vanished, but the
monk was still
with Huon and
Etclaramonde.
The monk will
thow them the
road to Momur,
although he longs
to escape from
medow, the whiche ye shall sone parseyue / and, syr,
we be tho that bathe the conducte of al the fayrey of1
the world Now, syr, I haue shewed2 you that we be
and all oure secretes the whiche was neuer shewed be- 4
fore to2 any mortall man / wherby I shal suffer of our
abbot soche ponysshement that there was neuer so yll
aduenture that fell to2 me before / therfor, syr, now I
ha^e shewed2 you euery thyng, suffer me to depart© 8
to2 my company.' 'Monke,' quod Huon, 'I wyl not
let the go tyll4 thou hast shewed vnto me by what
inaner of way I may go tyll* I haue founde kynge
Oberon;' thus Huon and the monke talked together 12
tyll4 it was fayre daylyght / then Huon loked abought
hym and sawe nother castell nor churche, rocke nor
ryuer, but he sawe5 they were in a fayre medow,
wherof Huon and Escalaramonde were sore abasahed 16
and blesshed them, hauynge great maruayle of that
they had sene ; then the monke desyred Huon to let
hym go, 4 monke,' quod Huon, ' to drawe or to strogell
can not auayle the / for thou shalte not scape out of 20
my handes tyll4 thou hast shewed me y* citye of
Momure, wheras kynge Oberon is ' / • Huon,' quod the
monke, ' 1 am content to do it, but fyrst 1 pray the take
fro my necke the stole.' ' Monke,' quod Huon, * thy 24
resonynge can not awayle the / for thou shalte not
scape fro me tyll4 thou hast set bothe me and my wyfe
nere to2 the citye of Momure, for thou shalt go with vs
fote by f ote ' / « well,' quod ye monke, ' syn it is thus, 28
I am content to fulfyll your pleasure / but one thynge
I say to2 you, ye neuer dyd a wyser dede then that ye
wolde not let me go awaye / for yf the stole were not
wherwith ye do holde me and the presious stones thai 32
ye haue on* you / elles7 ye shuld neuer haue departed
fro hence / I thoughte to haue begyled you so that ye
2 vnto.
& that.
8 Fol. cxlv. back, col. 2. 4 vntill.
• about. 7 omitted.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. clvL] HOW HUON AND HIS WIPE TRAVEL TO FAIRYLAND. 595
myghte haue let me gone my wayes whether I wolcle
go.' 'Monke,' quod Huon, 'yf I can ye shall not
departe fro me tyll1 ye haue fyrste set me & my wyfe
4 within the citye of Momure 9 / * syr/ quod the monke,
'that wyll I not do, nor I can not do it thoughe I
wolde, hut I shall set you hoth on2 ye mouwt of
yrcany,8 4 and fro thence ye may well se5 the citye of
8 Momure and all the countre of the fayrey, and then I
wyll retourne to6 my company, who hy this tyme are
passe the great see of Tartary * / ' monke,' quod Huon,
' I am contente soft thou7 set me8 in that plase, wheras
12 I9 may se the citye of Momure.
% How the monke bare Huon and Esclara-
mond ouer hylles & valeyes in the ayer
tyl1 he came in to the countrye of kyng
16 Oberon. Ca. C.lvi
7Hen the monke toke Huon 10 on his10 one The monk takes
Huon And Escla*
arme and Esclaramond on9 the other, ramonde m his
hat al wayes Huon helde styll the stole them u> a high
a hought the monkes necke to y* entente through th*
that the monke shuld not begyle hym,11
thus by the fayrey and enchauntement the monke
hare huon & Esclaramonde to5 a hye rocke to rest
24 them, and fro thence he bare them as fast as y* byrde
flyethe in the ayre / at last they alighted in a fayre
medowe / then the monke sayd / ' syr, in yll12 oure I
mette with you, for ye shall cause me to suffer great
28 payne / and now, syr, I can go no further for ye be18
nowe in the londe of kynge Oberon, wheras we haue They reach the
no pusaunce / but fyrst I wyll brynge you to5 your o^ron,klng
logyng, wheras ye shall reste ' / then before them they
1 vntill. 2 vppon. 8 Hircania. 4 Fol. cxlvi. col. 1.
8 vnto. 6 that. 7 wilt. 8 vs. 9 we.
10-10 vppon the. u and. 18 euill. 18 are.
QQ2
Digitized by
596
HUON 07 BURDBUX.
[Ca. clvi
and «nter a rich sawe a castell newly made, the whiche was so fayre
and1 ryche and stronge that yf I shulde dyscryue it
to the vtter most it were ouer longe to reherse / then
the monke toke2 leue of huon8 and lefte hym4 in the 4
castell that he had made / Huon sufferid hym to go and
The monk thanked hym of his 6courtoysye, the monke sodeynely
Ttnlihee
vanisshed awaye they wyst not whether / 6 then huon
and his7 wyfe entered into the castel and came into a 8
ryche chaumbre wel apareiled,8 and there they founde
a table set with dyuers metes and drynkes, but there
No man u in the was no man to speke ynto / then they sate downe at
castle : after thej
hare refreshed the table and dyd ete and drynke at theyr pleasure / 13
themselTM in it,
it disappears 6then they went9 thens, and when they were10 a lytell
paste11 they loked behynde them and saw nother towne
nor castel, wherof they were18 abasshed & recommannded
themselfe to18 our lorde 14Iesu chryste,14 then they went 16
forth in16 y* medowe and coude se nother towne nor
castell, house nor village / nor man to demaunde the
Huon and his wife way of : 6 they went so longe that they came to the fote
of a mountain, of a mountayne, wheron they mounted with great payn 20
and ascend it, trauayle ; 6 when they were on10 ye heyght17 of the
hyll they rested them / and then within a lytell season
a great city lie* huon sawe before hym apere a great citye, and on16 the
and a rich palace! one syde thereof a fayre and a1 ryche palleys / the 24
walles and towers of the citye & paleys were18 of
whyghte marble polysshed, the whiche stone19 so bryght
agaynst the sonne as thoughe it had bene al of christall /
then Huon sayde to18 his wyfe, ' dame,20 yonder, before 28
vs, we may se the21 citye of Momure, wheras kynge
Oberon is ' / ' syr,' quod Esclaramond, ' our lorde god
hath done18 vs a great grace22 that he hathe brought
* omitted. ' his.
5 and of the Duchesse Eacleremond his wyfe. 4 them.
• Fol. czlvi. ool. 2. 6 and. * lotting. 8 fourniahcd.
9 from. 10 gone. 11 way. u sore. 13 vnto.
m-m god. w to. 18 vppon. w toppe. 18 all.
19 did shine, 90 Madame. n noble. * in.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. clvi.] of obebox's sickness. 597
vs liether in sauegarde of our parsons / then they went
forth tyll1 they cam nere to2 the city of Momure / and
before the citye they sawe a marueylous great ryuer a m»rveiiou»
. , , , . ; w river run. before
4 and8 depe, and two bo we shote in lanmes, and4 was the entrance to
the city;
maruaylous plesant to behold / & when they cam to
thee ryuer syde they founde there a man with a ly tell bat * uuie boat
awalta them and
wessell awaytynge vpon all them 5 that wold come to2 they cnw over.
8 the citye to pas them ouer / then Huon ande his wyfe
entered into the lytel shyppe and saluted the gyder
therof, but he wold geue7 none answere / but merueyl-
ously behelde them, & when they wer ouer / the pas-
12 Sanger,8 who was named Clarimodes, and he was sone The boatman m
to a damoysell of the fayrey / then he demaunded of SYlwry?' "°n
Huon what he and his wyfe were / and sayde, 'Me He a*k« Huon
who he U.
thynke ye be none of the fayrey / wherfore I am not
16 contente that I haue passed you ouer' / then Huon
gaue hym none answere, but went forthe and entered
into the citye, and as they passid they were greatly The people of the
*' """ town wonder to
regardid of them within y* citye, and sayde one to a see Huon and
r»A • a ia Eeclaramonde
20 nother it is9 maruayle to se these two parsones to10 walk through the
enter into this citye / for kynge Oberon, who lyethe BtwiU"
seke in his bed, gaue great charge to2 Clarimodes that OberonUeick.
no straunger shuld pas the reuer to enter in to this
24 citye / Huon harde them and was therof ryght sorow-
full when he harde that the kynge laye syke in his
bed / so he passed forth and came to2 the paleys / euery
man there beheld hym and his wyfe and had great
28 marueyle to se any mortal parsons to enter into that They enter the
royal palace.
palays, 11 they were therof abaashed & wyste not what to
thynke, and12 the same season Malabron and Gloryand
were walkynge together in ye hal they behelde18 Huon
32 and Esclaramonde enterynge into the hal and incon-
1 vntill. 2 vnto. 8 verie. * it.
6 Fol. cxlvi. back, col. 1. 6 Escleremond. T them.
• Marriuer. • great 10 omitted. u and. u at
13 saw.
Digitized by
598
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Cau clvi
MMabronana tynent they knew them / and came to1 them and
nizo tkenZT°* enbraced them / and sayde, ' A, noble duke Huon and
duches Esclaramonde, ye ar welcome of your comynge,
we are ryght ioyfull ' / then Malabron wente fro them 4
and wente into the chaumbre, wheras y* kynge laye
oberon hears of seke and said / ' ryght dere syr, your good frend Huon
& E8claramond his wyfe are come into your hall ' / when
2 the kynge harde that Huon and Esclaramonde were 8
and rises from hi* come, for the great ioye that he had, he quyckely rose
out of his bed. Therwith Gloryand / Huon and Esclara-
mond entered into the chaumbre where kynge Oberon
was. 8 when kynge Oberon saw them he came to1 12
He welcome* them, and sayd, ' My ryght dere frend Huon, and you,
Huon and Eecla- _ „
ramonde warmly, my dere louer Esclaramoad, of your comyng I am
ryght ioyfull ' / then he enbraced & kyssed them bothe
more then .x. tymes, and sayd, 'Huon, my4 dere frend, 16
for the great trouthe & noblenes that I fynde in you I
He will make shall make you kyng of all the f ayrey, and your wyfe
Huon king of .** „ , *
fairyland and Esclaramonde shall be lady and quene of the same, and
Esclaramonde t%/\
queen. besyde that I wyll geue1 you5 my dyngnyte. 2U
1T when the kynge had well saluted them then he
sate downe on6 a couche & made huon and Esclaramond
to sytte downe before hym,8 then he commaunded
Gloryand that incontynent he shulde feche to1 hym 24
oberon takes his his bowe, and when he had it in his hand he toke an
an arrow. arow and shot therwith / then incontynente it semed
that al the world had aryued in the towne and palays /
At once the ther came thetherward7 so many knyghtes and ladyes 28
wlthfairy knights of the fayrey that all the towne and paleys was full /
whew they were all assembeled together in the paleys
oberon is borne kynge Oberon commaunded to cary hym into the great
on a couch into
the great haii. hall in his rych couche / then he commaunded scylence 32
to be kepte among them all, and then he sayde / 'lordes
and ladyes who be here assembeled all, ye knowe
1 vnto. 2 Fol. cxlvi. back, col. 2. 3 and. * right.
6 all. 6 vppon. 7 thether.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. clvia.] how huon is to succeed oberon.
599
that euery mortall thynge cannot alwayes1 endure / I
speke it for my owne selfe 2 who 2 am sone to a mortall
man, and was engendered on8 the lad ye of the preuye
4 He who can 4neuer dye, bycause she is one of the fairy
engendered of a man of the fayrey and doughter to a
woman of the fayrey, and where 5 it was5 so that Iulius
Seser was a mortall man, therfore it behouethe me to
8 pas out of this worlde by the commandement of our He »nnounoet u»
Approaching
lorde god, who hathe ordeined that it shulde so be. death;
And bycause* duryng the tyme that I haue bene here
conuersaunt with you / therfore I wyll not leue you
1 2 without a lorde / but fyrst in my ly fe dayes I wyll puruey
you of one, who shall be duke Huon, whome I loue Huon win raoceed
him on hie
well and derely, & also I wyll that his wife, the duches throne.
Esclaramond, shall abyde with hym / for in no wyse I
16 wyll separate them asonder : therfore I ordeyne that
Huon who is here presente be your kynge and lorde,
& Esclaramond7 quene and lady / and fro hensforthe I
put my realme and dyngnyte into his handes / and I
20 wyll he vse it as I haue done in my lyfe tyme / howe
be it kynge Arthur hath sore pressed on3 me to haue King Arthur ha§
tii pressed Oberon
my dignyte8 & realme, but I wyll that none shal haue in rain to be»u>w
the kingdom on
it but alonly Huon of Burdeaux, who is here present* him.
24 whom I wyl crowne kynge in all your presences.
% How9 kynge Oberon crowned Huon and
Esclaramonde and gaue them his realme
and dyngnite that he had in the10 fayrey,
28 and made the peas betwene Huon & king
Arthur. Ca. Clvi[a].
1 long. 2—2 because I. 3 vppon.
4 Fol. cxlvii. col. 1. 6-6 as it is. 8 of my loue.
7 your. 8 after realme. 9 the noble.
10 laud of the.
Digitized by
600
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. clvio.
The rabjecU of
Oberon sorrow-
fully ■
Oberon plac«t
crown ■ on the
heads of Huon
and Esclara-
monde, and
delivers to Huon
his horn, napkin,
cup, and armours.
On a mountain
bard by a great
number of men
and tents la seen.
Kinj? Arthur and
his men are there :
they have come
too late to receive
Oberon's king-
dom.
Hen all1 the people of the fayrey,
2knyghtes and ladyes, had well harde
and vnderstonde kyng Oberon, they
were right syrowfull3 that he 4shulde 4
leue them, and sayde / 'syr, syn it
is your pleasure and that it is your wyll / of reason we
must be content to receyue Huon of Burdeaux for oure
kynge, and dame5 Esclaramonde his wyfe for oure 8
quene* / when the kynge vnderstode hys lordes and
people, then he caused to be brought thether .iL
crownes / ye one was set on* Huons hede and the
other on6 Esclaramondcs hede / then Oberon sent for 11
his home / his1 napkyn and cup / and the good
harnays:7 he delyuered them to8 Huon to do with
them his pleasure / great ioye and feast9 was made in
the palays of 10 the knyghtes and ladyes of the fayry ; 1$
then kyng Huon loked out at a wyndowe and sawe on8
a mountayne that he past ouer at his comynge thether,
11 great nombre of tentes and pauylions. then12 he sayd
to8 kynge Oberon, *syr, on6 yonder mountayne I se11 20
great nombre of men assemblyd, and many tentes and
pauylyons pyghte vp ' / 1 Huon,' quod kynge Oberon,
' know for trouthe13 it is kyng Arthur, who wenethe to
haue my realme and dyngnyte, but he comethe to late / 24
for the promyse that ye made8 me ye haue kept,
therfore he faylethe and comethe to late / for yf ye had
not com I had geuen hym my realme and dyngnyte /
I knowe well13 he wyll be here sone to se me / 12 he wyll 28
be sorowfull and angery of your comynge hether / but
yf I canne I shall do so moche that ye shall be bo the
in peas and reste, for14 reason16 is that he do obey you.'
Therwith kynge Artkure and all his cheualrey entered 32
1 omitted. 2 both.
6 Madame. 8 vpon
• feasting. 10 by.
" good. 15 it
8 in. 4 Fol. cxlvii. col. 2.
7 Armour and. 8 vnto.
"a. « and. " that.
Digitized by Google
,Ca. clvia.]
OF KING ARTHUR.
601
in to1 Momure, & cam & alyghted at y* palays, and King Arthur
.11 • _ , _ _ comee to Oberon'e
with hyin his syster, quene Morgan le feye, and Tran- palace withaiihia
company.
selyne theyr nese / they came and saluted kynge
4 Oberon, who receyued them with great Ioye, and
sayde / ' syr2 kynge Arthure ye *ar welcome, and oberonweioomei
Morgan your syster, and Transelyne your nese / and
syr, I praye you4 shewe me what fayre chylde is that
8 I se there before your syster Morgan' / 'syr,' quod Merlin fa with
* , , . the new-coroere :
Arthur, 'he is called Marlyn, & is sone to Ogyer he is son of ogier
y* dane / who hath wedded my syster Morgan, and I Arthu^tSer
haue lefte hym in my countre to rule it tyll6 I M(,^8*n•
12 retourne ' / 4 syr,' quod kynge Oberon / ' y* chyld shall
haue good fortune, he shalbe in his tyme feryd &
doughted / for Ogyer his father is a good and a
valyant knyght : And syr 6 kynge Arthur, ye ar
16 welcome, & of your comynge I am 7ioyous7 / 1 haue
sent for you to shew you the pleasure of our lorde
8Iesu Chryst8 that I shall departe out of this worlde,
and to the entente that ye shulde be contente with9
20 that I haue geuen you10 in the fayry so moche dygnyte
and pusaunce, wherwith I desyre .you to be content /
syr 11 beholde here duke Huon of Burdeauz and his
wyle ye duches Esclaramonde, to12 whome I haue geuen oberon telle
24 my realms and my dingnyte, to vse it as I haue done realm has been
10 here before : 10 and therf ore I praye and commaunde b6rtowed'
you that ye wyl obey hym as kynge and souerayne of
al the fayry, and you to loue13 together with good lone
28 and peas' / when kynge Arthur hard kynge Obero» ,
he answered fersly, and sayd / ' syr, I haue well hard
you ; and ye knowe well that your realme & dyngnyte
ye 14 haue geuen14 me after your deces, and now I se15 Arthur b angry
at Hoon'a future.
32 ye haue geuen it to duke Huon / syr, let hym go into his.
1 the Citie of. 1 great. 5 Fol. cxlvii. back, col. 1.
4 to. 6 vntill. 6 noble. *-t right ioyfulL
*-« God. 9 in. 10 heretofore. 11 for. u vnto.
13 hue. gaue. ^ well.
Digitized by
Google
602
HUON OF BURDBUX.
[Ca. clvia.
owne countre and 1to the1 citye of Burdeaux wheras
he hathe lefte his doughter Claryet, and let hyni go
and marry her, for as here he hath no thynge to do ;
I had rather he clene exyled for ener and chased out of 4
HewiunotoUj my realme / then I shulde oheye hym or do2 hym3
the new fairy
king. homage / for he shall haue no Hhynge to do oner me
without he wyn it with the poynte of the sworde ' /
when duke5 Huon6 harde kyng Arthur of Bretayne, 8
he answered fersly and said / ' kyng Arthur, knowe for
trouthe for all your wordes and thretenynges, I wyll not
HaonteiwArthtir spare to say to* you that whether ye wyl or not
that he will foroe .
obedience from it must behoue you to obey and to be vnder me, 8yn it 12
him*
is the pleasure of my lorde, kynge Oberon, here present,
or elles ye may departe and go and dwell in your
countre of Bretayne* / then kynge Oberon, seynge
apparence of great warre to be moued betwene these 16
two kynges, he spake and sayd7 he wolde haue theyr
yll8 wyll layd downe & neuer to haue warre betwene
oberon keepe them ; 9 then he9 sayd to2 kynge Arthur / ' syr, I wyll7
peace between .
them: if Arthur ye holde your peas, for if ye speke one worde more 20
dient, he shall be agaynst Huon the souerayne kyng of the fayry, that he
i^e'rwoic"1 tot° wolde condempne hym parpetually to be a warwolfe in
10 the se,10 and there to end his dayes in payne and
mysery / but yf he wyll beleue hym he wolde agre 24
them together* / then kynge Arthur stode styll and
wolde speke no word / then Morgan and Transelyne
fell down on theyr knees and desyred kynge Oberon to
haue petye of kynge Arthure, and to pardon hym11 his 2ft
yll wyll : 9after that Morgan had spoken, then kynge
Arthur yields to Arthur kneled downe, and sayd, ' ryght dere syr, I pray
Oberon, and begs
forgiveness. you pardon me in that I haue spoken scrmoche agaynst
your pleasure' / 'Arthur,' quod6 Oberon, 'I wyll well 32
1-1 vnto his. 2 vnto. 8 any.
4 Fol. cxlvii. back, col. 2. * Kinge. • had well
7 that • euill. •-• and. »-» those parta.
» of all.
Digitized by
Ca. clvii.] of king Arthur's peace with huon.
603
that ye know1 yf it were not for the loue of your
syster who hath desyred me to pardon you / elles2
I wold haue shewed you the power that I haue in the
4 fayry / the whiche fro hens forthe I do geue to8 duke
Huon of Burdeaux, & all the dygnyte & pusaunce that
I haue vsed4 all my lyfe.' Then duke Huon ryght
5 humbly e 6 thankid kynge Oberon of his curtoysye.
8% Of the ordynaunces that7 kyng Oberon
made before he dyed. Ca. Clvii.
. Hen8 Oberon had deposed hymselfe of
his real me and dyngnyte, and that he
had put al his pusaunce into the
handes of Huon, then he sayde to8
kynge Arthure / 1 syr, bycause I desyre
with all my heart that after my dysces Huon and you
16 shulde leue together in good peas and loue, I geue you oberon promises
all my realme of Boulquant and all the realme that usfiundofhQr
Syble holdethe of me, to do therwith at your pleasure, Bonlq,wnt*
and of all the fayry es that be in the playne of Tartare / and ail the fairies
. ofTartary areto
20 and I wyll9 ye haue as moche pusaunce there as Huon be under his
control.
hath here. Prouyded that here before me ye make
homage to3 hym & 2 to 2 that good peas and loue maye
be betwene you* / then Arthur, Morgan, and Tran-
24 selyne, and all10 other lordes11 that were there thanked
kyng Oberon, and sayd how they neuer hard nor saw
so rych a gyfte geuen before as that kynge Oberon had
geuen to12 Arthur. Then kynge Arthure, in the
28 presence of 8 Oberon, came and made homage & kyssed Arthur makes
peace with Huon,
duke Huon 2 on the mouth /2 then8 Oberon and all
other had therof great ioye bycause of the peas made
betwene thos two kynges, 18 great feaste14 and ioye was
1 well after ye. 2 omitted. 8 vnto. 4 in.
6 Fol. cxlviii. col. 1. 8 ryght humblve after Oberon.
7 the noble. 8 King. • that 10 the.
u and Ladies. 12 vnto kynge. 13 and. 14 feasting.
Digitized by
604
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca. clviL
Oberon'e end
approach*.
H« calls Hoon,
Arthur, Gloryand,
and Malabroa
He tella Huon
how all hli
powers devolve
ou him,
and bids him
establish a new
abbey where he
himself ihall be
buried.
Huon thanks
Ooaron humbly.
made in the paleys, for all the moste noble lordes and
ladyes of the fayry were there assembelyd, there was
great solempnyte made / Thus as they were in this
great ioye kynge Oberon, felynge that xhis last ende 4
aproched, *he knewe ye oure and day3 / then seynge
that in his lefe dayes4 he had prouyded a kyng for his
realme, he6 thankyd our lorde cIesu chryst6 of the
graces that he had geuen hym in this worlde / then 8
he callid before hym Huon of Burdeaux, and kynge
Arthur, & Gloryand, and Malabron, and sayd / 1 syrs, I
aduertyse that longe I shall not abyde among you /
therfore Huon, for your bountye and noblenes wher- 12
with alwayes7 ye haue bene endowed, I haue chosen
you amonge other to haue the kepynge and syngnary /
and the mynystracyon of al ye fayrey as well of
the countre of the8 warwolfes as of other thynges 16
secrete, reseraed9 to be shewed to any10 men / and also
I haue geuen you my dyngnyte and pusaunce to do u
as I haue done in my tyme ; & 12 therfore, syn12 1 haue
thus chosyn you / therfore I wyl that13 I depart out of 20
this world / that ye do make a newe abbey of monkes,
the which I wyll be set here in this14 medow15 before
this citye, bycause al my dayes I haue loued this citye /
and I wyll that in the church of the same abbey ye do 24
bury my body as rychly as ye shall thynke conuenyent /
and I recommaunde to16 you all suche as hathe well
serued me, and I wyll17 ye retayne them into your
seruyce ' / when18 Oberon had said as moch as plesed 28
hym, Huon answerid and sayd / 1 dere syr, of the great
goodnes and honours that ye haue done tolfl me, I
thanke you / and all that ye haue ordeyned or wyll do
by the grace of 9 our lorde Iesu chryst* it shal be done 32
1 Fol. cxlviii. col. 2. 1 for. 8 day be/ore houre.
4 tyme. 6 humbly. god. 7 always afttr bene.
* omitted. 9 and not. 10 mortall. 11 therewith,
because. 13 when. " the. u heere.
w vnto. 17 that. 18 King.
Digitized by
Google
Ca. clvii.]
of oberon's death.
605
in suche wyse that my sowle shal bere no charge for it
at the day of Iugment.' when the lordes and ladyes
that were there assembeled hard the wordes of kynge
4 Oberon / and sawe 1clerely how1 his last ende aproched
2nere / y* cryes and clamours that was8 there made
-was4 maruel to here, and spesyally ther was suche
wepynge and cryeng6 in the cete that4 pete it was
8 to here,6 for they wer aduerteysid how7 king Oberon
drewe faste8 to his laste end, who lay in a ryche oberon dies,
cowche in the myddes of his palayes makyng his
prayers to9 our lorde 10Iesu cryste,10 and holdynge Huon
12 by the hande, and at11 laste12 sayde, 4 my18 dere frende
Huon, pray for me ' / & then he made the synge of y*
16 multytude of angelles sent fro 10 our lord Iesu chryst,10 tn&iM.
who at ther depertynge made such shynynge and
clerenes in y* palays that ther was neuer none suche
sene before / and there with there was so swete a smell
20 that euery man thought7 they had bene rauysshed in
to paradyse, wherby they knewe suerly that kynge
Oberons sowle was saued / when kynge Huon, & kyng
Arthur, & quene Esclaramonde / Morgan le faye and
24 Transelyne / and kynge Carahew / Gloryand and
Malabron / and all other knyghtes and ladyes, 16 when
they15 knewe that kynge Oberon was dede / there is aii in the pel**
w 6tp bitterly.
no humayne tonge can tell the cryes, wepynges, and
28 complayntes that was 8 made there for the dethe of
kynge Oberon / then his body was taken and borne to
the plase where his sepulture was deuysed / the whiche oberon u buried
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ In the new abbey
kynge Huon caused to be made ryght rychely / & «* he willed
before his doeth.
32 founde there an abbey as kyng Oberon had deuysed.
1~1 well that 2 Fol. czlviii. back, col. 1. 8 were.
4 great 6 lamentations. 6 it 7 that
• neere vnto. • vnto. 10-10 god. 11 the. 14 heo.
» right. 14 and. »-» omitted.
606
HUON OF BURDEUX.
[Ca, clviil
At ti» ftmerml
banquet are three
owned kings,
end two beantiftil
At length kings
Arthur end
Csrshew take
their leere,
and king Hoon
and queen
Esdaramonde
rale orer (airy-
After the bury all / they retourned to y* palays, wher as
the tables were set, and there sate .iii crowned kynges
& two excellent quenes ful of great beauty; at the
hede1 of the table sate kynge Huon, and nexte* hym 4
kynge Arthure, and then 8 kynge Carahew and the two
quenes / & the other ladyes departid and went and
dyned in ther chambers / 4 they were all serued of
euery thynge that was nessessary. And after dyner 8
and grace sayd / kynge Arthure and kynge Carahew
toke theyr leue of kynge Huon and of quene Esdara-
monde / and so departid euery man in to his owne
countre / and Morgan and Transelyne taryed a sertayne 12
space with quene Esclaramond in great ioy and solas.
Now let V8 leue spekynge of kynge Huon and of quene
Esclaramonde, who taryed styll in the fayrey, and shal
do vnto5 the day of Iugemente / and let vs retourn to 16
our* mater and speke of ye fayre Claryet, doughter to*
kynge Huon, who was at the7 citye of Burdeaux.
% Howe the kynge of Hongary & the kynge
of Engelond and Florence, sone to2 the 20
kynge of Aragon, desyred to haue in
maryage the fayre lady Claryet / and how
she was betrayed by Broharte / and how
syr Barnarde was drowned, & of the ylles8 24
that the traytoure Brohart dyd to2 the9
lady Claryet / and how he dyed at the
laste. Ca. C.lviii.
1 vpper end. 1 vnto. s Fol. cxlviii. back, col. 2.
4 and. 6 vntill. 6 former. 7 noble. 8 euila.
9 faire.
u
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